Joint Donor Team gets new South Sudan head

By Julius N. Uma

September 25, 2011 (JUBA) – The former head of South Sudan’s Joint Donor Team (JDT), Michael Elmquist, bid farewell to his team and welcomed his successor on Saturday.

“It’s amazing to see how things have been unfolding in South Sudan” said Elmquist, who held the post for three years, and expressed his gladness in being “part of this country’s future.”

JDT was established in 2006 by the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK, then joined by Denmark and Canada.

Over the past years, the six governments of these various countries have been working to coordinate and strengthen their development efforts in South Sudan. They have concentrated in areas such as health and HIV/Aids, water and sanitation, education, governance and economics.

Elmquist said the JDT had acted as a catalyst for donor coordination between various development partners, citing the US Agency for International Development, EU, World Bank, UN, and others.

Honor Flanagan, who took over as the new head of the team, said the office will continue with its mission to promote policies in support of sustainable peace, poverty reduction and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in South Sudan.

Flanagan, who previously served as Elmquist’s deputy, underscored the achievement made by his predecessor during his three-year tenure, and pledged the team’s full commitment towards building the capacities of all stakeholders and non-governmental organisations to steer development in South Sudan.

(ST)