On 9 July, southern Sudan will become the world's newest country - but it will also be one of the poorest. With some of the worst human development indicators in the world, and with relations with Khartoum in the north increasingly tense, what does the future hold for the new state?

In this week's Guardian Focus podcast, Madeleine Bunting takes a look at the development challenges and opportunities facing southern Sudan in its crucial first year. She asks what role international donors, multilateral organisations and NGOs should play. And she asks what the south's independence means for the new country's neighbours, particularly north Sudan.

Xan Rice, the Guardian's east Africa correspondent, discusses the mood in southern Sudan in the run-up to independence and the challenges ahead. We hear from Mabior Philip, a 25-year old living in Juba about his experiences with healthcare and education in southern Sudan. Down the line from Juba, Jok Madut Jok, under-secretary for culture and heritage in the Government of Southern Sudan, talks about government priorities for the new state.

We also hear from Mabior Philip, a 25-year-old living in Juba, about his experiences with healthcare and education in southern Sudan. And in London, Bunting is joined in the studio by Sara Pantuliano, head of the humanitarian policy group at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and Jonas Njelango, Sudan country representative for the international relief and development charity Tearfund, which has been working in south Sudan since 1998.