SN 4 EP 9: Advancing Research-Informed Policymaking through Open Science and Governance in South Sudan

This episode features Hon. Dr. Woda Jeremiah Jago, a member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) representing the Republic of South Sudan and Chair of the Subcommittee on Agriculture and Food Security. She is also the Managing Director, Hope Institute of Management and Research and the Founder of the Dr, Woda Foundation (For Women and Girls Empowerment). Dr. Jago joins host Joy Owango to share her remarkable journey from an academic researcher and university professor to an influential policymaker and activist.

She discusses the foundational growth of South Sudan’s higher education and research ecosystems, the urgent need for data-driven policymaking to address climate change and environmental degradation, and the transformative potential of Open Science in reducing reliance on donor-funded research agendas

Here are the key things to look out for

Bridging the Gap Between Science and Policy

Dr. Jago emphasizes that African politicians are not indifferent to science but often lack the time or resources to digest dense scientific literature. For policies to be effective and sustainable, scientists and researchers must actively step into governance, engage with policymakers, and provide the facts necessary to build evidence-based legislation.

The Urgent Need for Environmental and Health Research

With South Sudan experiencing severe climate shocks, such as massive flooding, there is a critical need for localized research. Dr. Jago highlights the alarming rise in unprecedented health crises, including cancers and congenital deformities near oil production sites, emphasizing that rigorous research is vital to enforce environmental risk assessments and protect local communities.

Overcoming Limited Funding and Infrastructure

South Sudan’s state research funding remains limited, hovering around 1% of the national budget, leaving universities heavily reliant on foreign scholarships and donor-driven research agendas. Decades of conflict also left academic infrastructure fractured, forcing local researchers to send samples to neighboring countries like Kenya and Uganda for basic analysis.  Open Science as a Catalyst for SovereigntyAdopting Open Science practices has the potential to transform fragmented, donor-reliant research into a coordinated national asset for South Sudan. By creating open-access local repositories and free academic journals, African scholars can better document regional realities, increase global representation, and build the confidence needed to defend unique findings that diverge from Western literature.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Intro:

Welcome to Mazumgumzo – African scholarly conversations, a podcast that highlights the perspectives of various stakeholders in academia and research fields across Africa through open dialogue on mazungumzo on scholarly communication in Africa.

Joy Owango

Welcome to Mazungumzo, African scholarly conversations, a platform that brings together African policymakers, researchers, science communication specialists, innovators and university leaders who contribute to strengthening research and knowledge ecosystems across the continent. I’m your host. Joy Owango, Executive Director of Training Center in communication, TCC Africa, a capacity building trust based at the University of Nairobi, Faculty of Science, Technology and Innovation in Kenya.

Today, we explore these issues from the perspective, or rather, we explore issues from the perspective of a policymaker working at the intersection of research, governance and regional cooperation in South Sudan. I am joined by Hon Dr. Woda Jeremiah Odok, a member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) representing the Republic of South Sudan. She is also the managing director of the Hope Institute of Management and Research and the founder of the Woda Foundation For Women and Girls empowerment. Dr Woda is a researcher. She holds a Bachelor of  Science in Animal Science from the University of Juba, a master of science in animal production from the University of Khartoum, and a PhD in animal nutrition from G.B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in India.

In the East African legislative assembly, her work focuses on agriculture, food security, climate change and public health. She introduced the regional bill on the prevention and control of transboundary and zoonotic animal diseases, and currently chairs the Subcommittee on agriculture and food security.

Dr Woda Jago, it is a pleasure to have you on Mazungumzo, welcome.

Hon. Dr Woda Jeremiah Jago

Thank you very much, Executive Director, Madam Joy. I’m really privileged to be in this very important podcast, especially for us Africans who are known and sometimes being described as,that we don’t deal with the research and we don’t pay attention to research. So I’m really honored to be in this very important podcast.

Joy Owango

Fantastic! So to begin with, could you share your journey into public service and policy leadership and how your work as a researcher has shaped your interest in regional governance within the East African Community?

Hon. Dr Woda Jeremiah Jago 

Yeah, thank you very much for this. Actually, it’s a long journey. I started with my love for education. I’ve been a bookish girl since I was young. I was privileged to have my masters, my PhD, in early age. So before turning 30, I was with my PhD already. So I joined the field of  teaching in the university. I started as a teaching assistant after graduation, and then after holding my master degree, I became a lecturer. After that, I got my PhD, I became an assistant professor, and then after publishing some papers, you know, I ended up to be associate professor and by the years I taught also, so I have, more than 15 years experience in teaching in the uni.

As I said, my minor was animal husbandry, and my major is animal nutrition. So these are the fields in which I’ve taught, and I also supervised some students. But now, being a southern Sudanese by then, because I’m born and raised in Khartoum, and I’ve seen the marginalization of my people since I was young girl, and it wasn’t easy. Then following the struggle of my people in South Sudan, where we didn’t live a lot, but you know, you have aunties, you have uncles. You hear about them being killed because of the war, and some of them joining the movement to flee the country. This thing has built in me, something to advocate. Always about the right of the South Sudanese, and then also, I don’t know if it’s fortunately and unfortunately being a woman also in Sudan and South Sudan, it’s another, is another place to be an activist, trying to fall and advocate for the right of the girls and women. This is what taught me, actually, to politics. Always I said that it starts by activism. It starts by promoting rights and feeling that you know you have to do something. This is what led me to join the referendum as the director of operation. I was part of that last South Sudan, the final walk towards the freedom, so I was appointed as the director of operation for South Sudan Referendum Bureau, which led to the secession of  South Sudan.

From there, coming to South Sudan now and seeing how women are also marginalized, I started to be active in that area, and then I moved to Uganda because the infrastructure for my children and the schooling and everything was really not  very pleasant by then. So we moved to Uganda, and there also I joined the South Sudanese community, they really needed a lot of empowerment. So as somebody who has worked all my life, staying five years without doing anything, I started to be active in empowering women. I then started the Hope Institute for Training.  I started training women and engaging with them, also going to the refugee camps, talking to them about their rights and all these things. When South Sudan was joining the ESC, I campaigned and was elected as an independent candidate. Women really supported me, because by then, I was known to support women and to work and I’ve also written some books in these five years that I stayed. I don’t say that I was idle, but I was in engaged and trying to write things, because I also love to write. That was one of the hobby I have.

This is what made me to end up in the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) for the first term. The second term, I was also re-elected, and here I am becoming a politician from a researcher and then University professor, to politics, which people sometimes see that it’s like a loss of someone who would have helped a lot in the educational field, but for me, I don’t see it like that, because I did not lose my identity as a researcher and academician. I didn’t lose it into politics, but I think  I’m enhancing it somehow, somewhere. I think I’ll just stop here a part of other things I do, but because the time is is a little bit short.

Joy Owango

Yeah, so your career has been quite impressive. Yes, it’s quite unfortunate about your country, formerly Sudan, now the secession into South Sudan, then the marginalization of the people in southern Sudan. It even gets worse with women in the same country, and the fact that you’ve managed to rise beyond all those challenging situations, it is something that is actually worth respecting, and not only acknowledging worth respecting. I believe you moving from research and into policy. You know, when I look at politics, I’m looking at it from a policy perspective. Its a very influential position for you to make change, to help influence change, and also provide legislation for opportunities for the marginalized people. So I don’t see it as a loss. I see it as a growth. This leads actually to my next question. South Sudan is still developing its high education and research ecosystems. What opportunities do you see for strengthening research institutions and knowledge production in the country?

Hon. Dr Woda Jeremiah Jago 

Yes, South Sudan, really, as you said, is still developing, but there are many important opportunities alongside with some clear challenges in policy and funding. There are key research opportunities, especially in areas of peace building and governance, because this is, I think, something which we really need when we are building the country. We have also the institutional strengthening and public administration, maybe public health, agriculture and food security, you have also, I think, followed on the news, how now climate change is really affected us and last year and even this year. Before yesterday, there was a lot of rains in Juba and the surrounding areas. You can see the school kids moving in waters, and they are falling in and out. Last year we had seven of our state which were covered by water. I think the area of the climate change and environment and natural resource really need a lot of work. We have oil locations also and oil companies, which really need to be oversighted by the Parliament, which they are doing, but also a lot of research need to be done there, because some of these companies don’t abide by the environmental risk assessment.

Now we have in South Sudan cases of cancers which were not there because South Sudan is very virgin and natural. People eat natural things, so we never had cancers before. Even when we were in Sudan, you find rarely South Sudanese with kidney disease cancer and I think because of our culture, also, there are some diseases because we don’t marry our relative. So there are things which these inherited diseases, most of them, we don’t have it, but the disease, which is  acquired by pollution, which we see now, we see deformed children being born in South Sudan, especially around the areas of  the oil. So I think these are opportunities where people can do research, the educational system, also technology and infrastructure. You know, there are a lot of opportunities, and there are a lot of things which are supposed to be researched.

I believe, as you said, I think part of the question, the first question, which we asked that, how did that research or educational background or teaching affected my work? I think it really affected because whenever there is a legislation, whenever we are, working in a committee, and even when we are writing the report that we say, okay, lets get experience from these people, because you know, you have been supervising students. So even writing a report, how you should  write a small abstract, how the introduction is being written, how we should review. I believe if African countries and most of our politician really build their decision and the policies on an informed point of view. I think we’ll not end up having a lot of disasters, but most of our governments, they sometimes ignore research and research informative decisions. Yet, whenever you do a policy or law which is not really studied well, you end up by not implementing it.

Let me give you an example. Since I’m active in environment and climate change, most of our countries have banned the plastic use, but how many countries now, apart from Rwanda, when you go you don’t find the plastic? You find them why? Because the decision was made, maybe emotionally, maybe on the 16th of June, when there is the Environment Day, and you know people are seeing that this country has banned the use of plastic bags. A study wasn’t made on how to give the time so that you wind up the plastic and give people alternative measures and then enforce it after that, because you cannot just bring it. okay, you say we banned it and then you never studied which alternative will be there? How long will you raise it out from even the neighboring countries and all these things. So we end up enacting policy, paying money on it, and then they end up not being successful. Why? Because we did not put the importance of the research.

Joy Owango 

That is true, that is true. But I also believe Kenya is also making strides on the implementation, because there are alternative bugs that have come up. But the challenge is still seen in the townships, where the you can still see misuse of plastic bags, but I can say maybe in Kenya, in 80% of it has been implemented. It’s not as bad and what you’re seeing now is, fortunately cleaner streets. There is less garbage, there’s less plastic waste. We are seeing more designated garbage things with recycling messages. So people are becoming more and more conscious and you’re right, if you set up a legislation, you need to have implementation measures that are practical so that people can adopt. Otherwise, it becomes an emotional decision that is made. So for you, what you’re saying is that, what South Sudan is focusing on in higher education, is mostly on high climate change adaptation, food security and peace and security, because these are the priority research areas that you see coming out of the country. Now, many African governments fund research through public institutions and universities. Can you take us through what is happening in Sudan, or what are the next steps in achieving this goal?

Hon. Dr Woda Jeremiah Jago 

Yes, in South Sudan, as the question said, of course, compared to many African countries, South Sudan government funding for research, is through universities and public institution is still limited. As I was trying to to review the funding, it is like 1%, not more than 1% of the national budget, because our national budget mostly goes to salaries, and then still have some conflict, it goes also to empowering the defense. As we are advocating, not only South Sudan by the way, which is still a growing country, you find that even in other  countries, because also I stand from a legislator of a regional parliament of the eight East African countries, find that our funding towards research is really limited. Though we have been encouraging, especially us who are pertinent in research. Always when I see the budget of the East Africa Legislative Assembly towards the East Africa community. When we are passing the budget, one of the things I’m so interested in to read is the budget towards research and towards gender, and you find that they’re limited. The same thing is happening in South Sudan, but it’s through universities. But what helps us is that we have donor funded research there.

So mainly the universities which do research, Juba University, Upper Nile University, Bahr El Ghazal University, these are the bigger universities which get from the donor fund. You know, sometimes  that the donor funding these are driven research. They are mostly driven it’s not like, the country want to fund this, but the donor wants to touch on this. This is what we always said when you are given something, your hand sometimes are tight, but also there are some emerging but there are a small government initiatives. Because in higher education, we have the policy document like the higher education policy framework, which is from 2021 to 2025 which  it recognized the need to promote the research and innovation through universities, research centers and stronger national councils for higher education.

One of the problem also, which I can say, but this is what happening, is that we heavily depend on scholarship and external programs. Many of the South Sudanese researchers and post graduate students, they access research funding indirectly to foreign scholarships, sometimes, you know, you have this sandwich programs whereby you can be called, the country, which funds you to do some research there, and you come home to do the other part of the research home, domestically. Yeah. But there are also opportunities for space which are going forward, because we have, like, the current baseline is so low, but we have, like, we can design some public funding, such as a small competitive research fund and some institutional research grants for the universities. If the university is so active, also, because, also it depends on the universities. And that’s why, for us, we are encouraging the South Sudanese University to join the East Africa Inter University Council.

Joy Owango

Yes, that is very important.

Hon. Dr Woda Jeremiah Jago 

Yeah, and I’m so happy during our tenure. And even this one, we are ending in 2027 even the chair of the Council was the chancellor Professor Robert from Juba University. They happen to engage. They happen to engage, and they happen even to some South Sudanese student, especially female students, happen to get some scholarships. So these are the initiatives as a legislator, which I encourage our universities. Good enough, I’m still in contact with them, because this has been some of them were my professors, as you have seen, I studied in Juba university. I studied in Juba University in Khartoum, because by then, there were some conflicts. So I saw Juba University after finishing my PhD, because, as I told you, we were born and raised in Sudan. So when we are now, when the secession comes, is when we came to South Sudan, mainly Juba. So these are the opportunities and other even international opportunities. When I was still in the university, there was a normal program, which was a South-North correlation. It was from Akershus University in Norway, Upper Nile University in South Sudan, and Kyambogo University in Uganda. Also we brought some students, and these were the vocational trainings, but a master level, yeah.

Joy Owango

Okay, so now, I think it’s one step at a time, bearing in mind that with the history, the turbulent history that South Sudan has gone through, the fact that, even despite that turbulent history, there is still steps in trying to to operationalize the higher education system, working with the limited resources that are available, the partnerships that are in the region, that that will aid in making it supportive. So what I’m seeing is that all hope is not lost. It’s just an issue of forging forward and making sure that the systems grow. These are just foundational systems, and making sure that they grow and to the point that you have a mature higher education ecosystem. So being part of the East African Community is very important in this growth as well. It leads me to another question where we are going to focus on open science, which is instrumental in supporting higher education and research. What would the successful adoption of open science, science and stronger research governance look like in in South Sudan in the coming years?

Hon. Dr Woda Jeremiah Jago 

Having said this, I think this will, if we adapt it, if we in South Sudan, adopt the Open Science, it will give us successful and stronger research governance in South Sudan. It will really transform the fragmented donor reliance research into a coordinated, into a transparent national asset that directly support policy and development in South Sudan. Yeah, because by then, the universities and research centers routinely will deposit thesis, database policies and the reports they will have local journals and working papers series, they will become open and free to read and publish you know? We have, I can’t say we don’t have researchers, because one of the things, by the way, I miss putting in my bio data, is that in 2012 after the referendum, the government of South Sudan, by then we call it Goss government of South Sudan had seen that there is a need of research and to evaluate the five years they were still under Sudan, because we were given,and then I was one of the researchers who were picked to research in the livelihood. There were researchers for the governance, there were one of the judiciary like that. So they have seen that there is a need for the researchers to evaluate. By the way, there were many of the outcomes, if they were taken seriously, I tell you, Madam Executive Director, I think we couldn’t have ended up the way, we ended up now.

Joy Owango

Yes, yes, yes.

Hon. Dr Woda Jeremiah Jago 

Yes, because there were a lot of outcomes. So also, I think the ministry of the higher education and national research will also have some innovation and funds which will run for annual, maybe competitive calls within transparent peer review by mixed panels. These are the things which, if we have, because there is a council of the higher education and of the universities, they do a lot of things, but most of the time their hands are tied down by the funding.

In South Sudan, we have a lot of documentation and good paper works for many of the ministries, and I’m happy also to say that with the Ministry of Information and Technology, they’re really working hard to provide very strong Internet, and also they have before, sometimes they have legislate for the use of correct social media and all these things and there was a very good legislation. It’s not just coming my mind, but it was to legislate the offensive use of the media and the social media, and to use it correctly, because now I think the average South Sudanese have social media and they have access to internet. So this also helped in research, because you see now most of the people, especially who came from the movement and who were not given chance to upgrade their education, you find that most of the South Sudanese now are joining Juba University, Upper Nile University, masters program, diploma programs, but they do it online. They do it online. So I think the Ministry of Information is helping, and also the Ministry of Gender is helping with promoting some programs for women to enhance the inclusion of the women the 35%, and also the Ministry of Dam and Electricity, now there is a lot of effort for most of the South Sudanese, to have access to affordable electricity, because also without electricity, you cannot access the internet or access good means of studying, even for the undergraduate students. So I think this will give a chance. Also, as I’m still here and on this program, I think also your entity, I’m privileged as I said to have been interviewed by the Executive Director, just want to call upon the administration and the body of the TCC Africa to also Give South Sudan a chance or have some activity within South Sudan, I can connect you with the university chancellors. Most of them are my colleagues. Some of them also, they taught me. And because, I guess there is chance, a lot of chances, even if it’s by now, through online trainings, things like this. I think it can benefit some some of them. Yeah.

Joy Owango

Fantastic! It’s something that will definitely take up. And it brings me to a question relating to some of the trainings that you’ve taken part in the TCC Africa trainings. So in a recent TCC Africa training you noted that many African scholars struggle to defend findings that differ from existing literature, much of it from outside the continent, and that research funding is limited. What steps is South Sudan, taking to increase investment and support regional African research?

Hon. Dr Woda Jeremiah Jago 

Yeah, I was really privileged to undertake this scholarly communication, academic and research proposal writing, open science, and it came because I’m right now studying another master in women governance and leadership in Africa. So during that course, we debated that it’s sometimes if you find an anomaly towards what you are doing as an African I think it always goes to funding. How will you prove because if I’m doing a research, all the literature review is saying something. There is an assumption that my result will be this. Now, when the result is anomaly to what is there in the literature review, it will be difficult for me, as an African to prove it. Why? Because I wouldn’t have funding for another research to prove that. So that’s why we’re saying, as if we are just copy paste what was done, and then a little bit of my result is assumed. It goes back to that we don’t have funding. So South Sudan is trying it best, but I think, as most of the African countries, it is still very far.

One of the thing which I did not also bring out here is that we lack the proper infrastructure that laps.Most of our universities, you know, South Sudan has been a war zone, so universities, like Juba University, which was really well equipped by then, we have been told, as I told you, I studied in Juba university, but I studied it as a branch in Khartoum, because by then it was distracted and it was a war zone. So right now, some, even a student, if they have sample, they have to bring them to Uganda, maybe some to Nairobi to make analysis then back, though they are trying to improve the infrastructure, but it’s not to that extent. I wouldn’t lie, we still need infrastructure development in our universities and in our research facilities, and that that will also be a hindrance towards a student who find that okay, he’s finding a different and he needs to defend them. So I think it’s really difficult, I don’t know how the other countries are doing it. Maybe, if it’s outside the country is where fine, really you are facilitated. The professor can take you also through and can support you in this, but I don’t see it happening in our setting, even in the other developed the 60 plus years and countries live alone,which is 15 years you see, and we still dealing with post independent crisis.

Joy Owango

I think it’s an ongoing journey when it comes to this particular question and it’s not only restricted, as you said, it’s just not only restricted to countries, marginalized countries. This is something you also see in some in developed countries as well. So it’s an issue of making, I think this is not where open science comes in, where if you have access to all these resources, you are able to to have access to information that is relevant to your region, particularly you know the rise of open science has not only led to the increase in equity in science, but also better representation. So we are seeing more representation of African output thanks to open science. So I think it is one step at a time, and it’s an ongoing journey, for lack of  a better word, whereby, with time, we’ll be able to defend findings from literature that comes from our continent. We are going to defend findings with literature coming from our continent, because there is more representation and accessibility of the same.

As I said, I’m not begrudging content coming out of outside the continent, but it actually helps if we are able to start using more of our own literature, and it starts with accessibility. So I think it is really one step at a time. Now, as we wind up, what message would you share with African researchers and young scholars in the continent and similarly in South Sudan, who want their work to contribute more directly to policy and development across the continent?

Hon. Dr Woda Jeremiah Jago

Yeah, this is really, it’s a difficult one. But let me say, you know, let me say this, as you know, as a scientist, we’re always known of being transparent, being truthful and direct. So it’s for us to stand as researchers, as scientists, to be part of our governance, to be part of our policymakers, to be part of our politicians. And by the way, during one of the research gathering, I am there and they said that politicians are dumb. So I told them that politicians are not dumb, but they don’t have time to read sometimes and some really, maybe they don’t have the belief that science can end up giving some results. As I said for me, coming from a scientific background, I believe that whatever I make decision in should be based on facts, and should be based on something studies, not a mere talk or a mere philosophy or mere belief. I need to have something tangible. So I think for us, we shouldn’t think of ourselves as a superior community or society which doesn’t integrate with others, because, you know these others, they are determining our funding. They are determining the policies which will carry our research and our universities. So I think there is a need for collaboration between the community of scientists and the governance, and we should be part of  the development. For the young scientist, I really love science and we shouldn’t be discouraged by what is happening like we don’t have the facilities, but we have to raise our voices. You know, Parliament, politicians, are open to petition.

If we are so engaged most of the time, and we reach out to them, believe me, you will find that whatever, maybe perception you have about these people is totally not there, and they need our help.

When I go to the big, what is it called, big meetings, cop and all these things, we need scientists, we need good  negotiators to help our government, we need people who are informed to help them to take decision, because that’s why, most of the time when African countries go to these deals and negotiations, we come when we are defeated. Why? Because we have, as here we have you, the madam and the executive and all the scientists there not interacting with our decision making people or bodies, and yet we are not benefiting our continent or our country. So let’s really be inclusive in whatever we do, and we shouldn’t make the distinctions between governance, science and all these things.

Joy Owango

Fantastic, and I think that is really a nice way to wind up. Thank you so much. Dr Woda, honorable. Dr Woda, this has been very enlightening. It is also very inspiring  and it’s really nice to see, despite the challenges that are happening in South Sudan, they still a fight for higher education. There’s a fight for literacy, there’s a fight for research. This is music to our ears, to show the world that despite challenges that exist, not only on the continent, in the world, there’s still a need to continue investing in sectors that would help the future of the country of the respective countries. So thank you so much for your time. I truly appreciate it, and do have a lovely day.

Hon. Dr Woda Jeremiah Jago 

You are welcome. Thank you also for your time, and thank you for having me as a guest in this very informative and very important podcast. And I hope this will not be the last one. Let’s keep on and let’s have something happening to my beloved country, South Sudan, from your side, it will help the researchers, the students and the post graduate students.

Joy Owango

Absolutely thank you and bye for now.

Hon. Dr Woda Jeremiah Jago 

Bye, bye, much appreciated. Bye.

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