Executive Summary Women and girls, men and boys experience and respond differently to conflict. Women and girls are among the groups most vulnerable to conflict, and are often most exposed to its effects, such as poverty, disease, violence, and a lack of access to public services. Men and boys, on the other hand, represent most fatalities in conflicts. They experience mental health consequences and issues related to accessing labor–market opportunities and even reintegrating into society after having engaged in conflict (World Bank, 2018). Understanding the different needs and vulnerabilities of women and men in fragile situations provides insights to the impact of conflict on communities, households and individuals. As in most conflicts, in South Sudan, women and girls have been the most vulnerable. Not only do they face many challenges, including lack of access to basic services and productive assets, but many of the risks they face, such as gender–based violence (GBV), have been heightened during times of conflict. Furthermore, gender norms limit women’s mobility and hinder their escape from violence. Investment lending of the World Bank Group to South Sudan over the last 10 years has been substantial. This includes US$538 million in donor contributions through the Multi Donor Trust Fund, US$75 million from the South Sudan Transition Trust Fund and US$294 million in International Development Association (IDA) commitments. The Country Engagement Note emphasizes the importance of contending with power relations and promoting agency and voice in operations. It recognizes that closing gender gaps and promoting female empowerment can contribute to the twin goals of eliminating extreme poverty and fostering shared prosperity. Social protection programs are important policy tools to rebuild the social fabric of fragile and conflict– affected countries because they target the poorest and the underserved, with the aims of minimizing the specific risks they face and assisting them to better cope with shocks. Social protection programs also help avoid the resurgence of new conflicts caused by frustrations over inequality. Furthermore, well–designed programs can contribute to empowering women and addressing persistent gender gaps. Yet, until now, there have been few assessments undertaken to better understand how successfully these goals have been achieved in fragile countries and distill key lessons learned. The objectives of this paper are twofold. First, it assesses how social protection and other poverty reduction programs targeting the most vulnerable have addressed the needs of women and girls in World Bank operations in South Sudan. Second, it distills lessons learned and provides guidance to World Bank task teams designing and implementing operations in the country. Although the paper focuses primarily on the context of South Sudan, we believe the lessons are applicable across many fragile and conflict–affected countries. The primary audience for this paper is task teams working in fragile situations.
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