Building Responsibility for the Delivery of Government Services (BRIDGE)

The U.S.-brokered 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between Sudan and Southern Sudan provided for a referendum on secession in 2011, ushering in an era of promise that began officially on July 9, 2011, Independence Day for the new Republic of South Sudan. Before and after independence, Winrock worked with South Sudanese leaders and communities to begin delivering tangible dividends of peace in four border states through the USAID Building Responsibility for the Delivery of Government Services (BRIDGE) project. BRIDGE provided critical support to the new government in five priority sectors:

1) Governance, strengthening the capacity of local government to deliver services;
2) Community Development, strengthening the ability of communities and government to collaboratively address needs;
3) Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, increasing access to safe water and sanitation in a sustainable manner;
4) Agriculture and Livelihoods, boosting food security and promoting self-sustaining economic growth; and
5) Education, expanding access to quality education with emphasis on girls and teacher training for women.

In addition to improving the performance of local level governments to deliver services, Winrock worked with communities to help aggregate and articulate their needs, ensuring South Sudanese people have a voice in the decisions that affect them.