A United Nation high-level team led by US ambassador to South Sudan visited Torit on Wednesday to assess the needs of the population in terms of recovery and resilience in the coming years.
US ambassador to South Sudan Mr. Thomas Hushek told reporters after meeting Torit State Assembly that they want to refocus on developmental projects other than humanitarian emergency needs in the next five years.
Ambassador Hushek added that the peace deal is an opportunity to improve the physical infrastructure needed for long-term resilience.
“Over the last couple of years because of the conflict we dedicated enormous resources just to keeping people alive doing basic feeding, basic emergency health, and basic education. The idea is we would like to start being able to invest that and making more permanent inroads in development so that we are not just doing feeding programs but to develop and train doctors and midwives for the community,” he said.
The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General or DSRSG Mr. Alain Noudehou said South Sudan still faces a huge humanitarian situation due to prolonged war but insists that resilience and recovery will enable the community to regain their dignity.
“A lot of people who are displaced so people are not farming and people are refugees in other countries so they are not able to contribute to economic work of their own communities. So resilience and recovery means that people start to go back to their lives, start to till their own farms, they start to build their own trade. Gradually to put the community back together,” he said.
Torit State Governor Tobiolo Alberio reiterated his commitment to supporting any development activities in the state saying conflict has been the only impediment to development.