(Bloomberg) -- South Sudan's government and United Nations agencies are seeking about $900 million to rebuild the economy in a country that's been riven by civil war, the local UN aid coordinator said.
The Interim Cooperation Framework, which comprises the national government and 20 UN agencies, funds and programs operating in the country, is looking for the sum in the next two years, Eugene Owusu said in a statement.
The conflict that began in the continent's newest nation in December 2013 has left tens of thousands of people dead, forced 1 million to flee to neighboring countries and plunged an economy with sub-Saharan Africa's third-biggest oil reserves into crisis.
The money will “support building resilience in communities, delivering social services for the most vulnerable, reinvigorating local economies and supporting institution building and capacity,” Owusu said. He didn't give details on how the funds would be raised.
“We do acknowledge the voices that may say that, given the context today, the ICF is rather ambitious,” he said. “The truth is, we are witnessing an unprecedented challenge.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Okech Francis in Juba at fokech@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Karl Maier
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