Resource information
This Country Economic Memorandum is the
first economic report in a decade. It gives priority to
updating knowledge about the evolution of social and
economic developments during the 1990s. It reviewareas of
progress in macroeconomic reforms and the lack of success in
governance and institutional reforms. Substantial reforms
were undertaken in this period , but the civil war continued
to have a serious negative impact on Sudan's people and
its economic prospects. While the results of the reforms
have been promising, particularly in the area of
macroeconomic stabilization and liberalization, the
distribution of economic wealth needs to improve. Although
there has not been any national household survey since 1978,
social indicators point to low levels of welfare throughout
Sudan, with some indicators well below those in Sub-Saharan
Africa. among the many issues facing the Sudanese economy
are these: There has been high growth but skewed
distribution. Stabilization has been costly in social terms:
expenditures were cut by more than 50 percent relative to
gross domestic product (GDP), causing considerable
reductions in social services and infrastructure
development. Key services were decentralized, delegated to
states and local communities, which had neither the revenues
nor the administrative capacity for these tasks. High
poverty rates persist. Social inequalities threaten to
undermine macroeconomic stability. Moreover, the civil war
was costly in terms of human suffering. Millions are
internally displaced, there are almost a million refugees in
camps in neighboring countries, the death toll is estimated
at 2 million, and warring armies continue to claim
substantial resources. However, peace negotiations look
encouraging. For peace to be sustained, it must be
accompanied by economic and governance reforms, and a
formula for equitable sharing of resources and power must be
found for resolving the major root causes of decades of
civil war. Reconstruction and development needs are enormous
and will require external financing. Even after debt
rescheduling, additional resources will be needed and the
Sudan will urgently be expected to put measures in place to
improve public resources management. As for the major
sectors, infrastructure needs major rehabilitation and
development, agricultural reforms need to be pursued,
improved social services are a high priority, and
war-affected areas face special difficulties like food
insecurity. The needs of women require special attention,
particularly in those parts of the country where women
suffer severely from the violence and lawlessness that
emerged as a result of the prolonged civil war. Many are
widows and many have suffered also from rape, insecurity,
and other traumas. the average ratio iof adult women to
adult men is two to one in war-affected areas in southern
Sudan, and only one out of ten women is literate,
