Juba ‒ In an effort to address severely puny access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services in South Sudan, the Ministry of Health, with strengthen from World Health Group (WHO) and partners, has been implementing several initiatives to expand access in seven of its 10 states.
Years of overlapping humanitarian crises, including infectious illness outbreaks and complex humanitarian crises pushed by battle and native weather-related disasters have disrupted health systems, limiting access to mandatory health services, including SRHR.
As a consequence, South Sudan continues to face just some of the gravest SRHR challenges globally. Access to family planning is low, with a up to date contraceptive incidence price of spherical 6% and a teen beginning price of 97 per 1000 girls between old 15‒19 years.
The nation’s maternal mortality ratio is estimated at 692 deaths per 100 000 stay births, with spherical 10% linked to complications from unsafe abortion. The nation’s legislation permits abortion easiest when the mom’s existence is in chance. No subject these apt constraints, girls individuals might possibly look unsafe abortion services, most continuously arriving at health services with extreme post-abortion complications.
With easiest spherical 40% of births attended by knowledgeable beginning attendants, assorted key contributors to maternal mortality include postpartum haemorrhage, obstructed labour and sepsis ‒ all of which can be preventable with successfully timed access to quality health care.
Health authorities, with strengthen from WHO and partners, have centered on expanding access to care that responds to individuals’s needs, picks and rights, thru resilient main health systems. This has been done by strengthening coordination, training health group and improving monitoring. Focused efforts have centered on equipping health group with the information and abilities they need to ship better care.
In the northwestern states of Warrap and Northern Bahr el Ghazal, in 2024, 50 health group were trained in maternal and perinatal loss of life surveillance and response, a in actuality principal step toward strengthening how maternal and unique child deaths are identified, reported and addressed.
An extra 50 health group were trained in family planning in Torit and Wau, expanding access to voluntary contraceptive services in main health centres. In Torit, Malakal, Renk and Wau states, 94 health group obtained specialized training in the clinical management of rape, ensuring that survivors of gender-basically based totally violence from refugee, returnee and host communities can access successfully timed, compassionate care.
“The training has also enabled me to diagnose sufferers with syphilis and assorted sexually transmitted infections. It has in actuality expanded my knowledge and allowing me to lend a hand many mothers,” says Faida Jackline, a 29-Twelve months-dilapidated midwife from Kator Vital Health Care Centre in Juba.
Improving access to services also manner working with communities to produce demand and address stigma and misinformation. Attributable to SRHR services had been absent in the previous, many individuals attain no longer know that they arrive in. Through dialogues, bigger than 540 native and spiritual leaders during five states had been oriented on the ideas underpinning SRHR, helping to increase awareness and promote increased utilize of obtainable services amongst communities.
WHO has supported the development of nationwide post-abortion care guidelines, recognizing the serious role of stable and successfully timed post-abortion care in preventing maternal deaths. The unique guidelines focal point on the management of complications from both spontaneous and unsafe abortions.
Around 15 health group from chosen main health care services were trained in the unique guidelines and no longer decrease than 30% of the 35 centered health centres had been equipped with the mandatory tools and affords to ship post-abortion care, including handbook vacuum aspirators, beds, speculums and consumables.
“In collaboration with WHO, now we had been in a position to successfully implement cervical most cancers screening and post-abortion care management in six health services within Juba County. We have trained 14 midwives, who’re currently doing very ideal job screening sufferers in these six services. We sincerely thank WHO and partners for this collaboration,” says Vivian Hawa, Reproductive Health Coordinator at Central Equatoria Dispute’s Ministry of Health.
During 2024, the first Twelve months of the mission 934 girls individuals accessed fancy post-abortion complications. This includes 68 health shoppers from main health services, which initially never had the capacity to present post-abortion care services.
“Previously we never utilize to present post-abortion care at this facility, namely handbook vacuum aspiration. Then again, after receiving the training in 2024, we are now in a position to attend to girls individuals who have had unsafe abortions and kill assorted post-abortion care procedures,” says Kenyi Emmanuel Wani, a 27-Twelve months-dilapidated midwife from Munuki Vital Healthcare Centre in Juba, the nation’s capital.
As the programme is ending its 2nd Twelve months, continued collaboration and investment will seemingly be mandatory to glean on these early gains and make contributions to longer-term enhancements in reproductive health outcomes during the nation.
“Access to quality SRHR services is a subject of dignity, rights, and resilience. South Sudan is making principal strides to permit girls individuals and girls to gain access to the care they need,” says Dr Humphrey Karamagi, WHO Marketing consultant to South Sudan. “WHO is proud to strengthen the Ministry of Health in strengthening the health blueprint and ensuring that no one is left behind.”
