South Sudan News

Juba, 04 December 2017—Six million people in South Sudan—well beyond the half of the population (56%)— were estimated to be severely food insecure in September 2017, out of which 40 000 in humanitarian catastrophe. The current harvest season, between October to December 2017 is expected to reduce the number of people experiencing food insecurity to 4.8 million. However, the situation could worsen next year exposing multiple locations across the country to high risk of famine due to poor harvest. In 2018, 1.1 million children under five are expected to be malnourished.  

Juba, 1 December 2017:  Every second, someone in the world needs blood. Blood transfusion is one of the therapeutic procedures performed during hospitalizations and undoubtedly helps patients who are injured, having surgery, receiving treatments or are being treated for diseases that affect the blood.

Juba, 1 December 2017 – The Ministry of Health (MoH) with support from the World Health organization (WHO) and partners has commenced the implementation of a road map to introduce and institutionalize National Health Accounts(NHA) in South Sudan. The NHA is a framework for measuring total national health expenditures including public, private, and donors. It provides key indicators that are used to diagnose the ‘financial health’ of the health system. NHAs are the main source of data on money flows in healthcare and are used both for national and international purposes.

Juba, 29 November 2017: “I believe I gave birth successfully because I came to the hospital and followed all the advice given to me,” said Nyangouk Dot a thirty-four-year-old mother who came to the Kuajok maternity complex in early labour.

Fully aware of her previous losses at birth, the midwives at the maternity complex immediately admitted and managed her condition.  The seven months’ pregnant mother gave birth to a healthy baby boy and smiled to the doctors and midwives who have been attending to her regularly during her admission at the hospital.

Juba, 24 November 2017:  South Sudan took an important step in the global fight against HIV/AIDS with the launch of a new ‘Treat All’ and HIV Testing guidelines to end AIDS. South Sudan also joins the countries in Africa to have implemented Treat All recommendations among adults and adolescents in more than 50% of treatment sites in the country.

Juba 23 November: The fight against viral hepatitis is gaining momentum in South Sudan. The government with technical support from WHO, has embarked on a long and treacherous journey to eliminate viral hepatitis in the country. WHO in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and experts from Universities, medical specialists, public health professionals from MoH, and partners validated the draft practice guidelines for health professionals as well as the draft National plan to combat viral hepatitis.

Juba 23 November, 2017: As a commitment to providing quality, affordable, effective and efficient health services at all levels, the Ministry of Health with support from WHO and other health partners, has embarked on harmonizing health indicators for maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) and ascertaining health information data quality across the states and counties in South Sudan. 

Juba, 21 November 2017:  The conflict coupled with the country's worsening economic crisis have more than doubled the cost of delivering water, sanitation and hygiene services. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation is a public health concern in South Sudan.  

Juba, 13 November 2017: The worsening security situation in South Sudan, along with increased population movement, reduced health system functionality, disruption of health services, surveillance, outbreak response systems, and other disease control measures, led to an increased risk and vulnerability to more frequent disease outbreaks. 

Juba, 08 November 2017: WHO South Sudan in partnership with the Ministry of Health (MoH), UNICEF and other partners, conducted a Polio Outbreak Simulation Exercise (POSE) from 7 to 8 November 2017 at Juba Landmark Hotel to renew the commitment and evaluate South Sudan’s preparedness and capacity to respond to potential Polio event /and outbreak, outline strategies/guidelines and establish standards and timeline for response.