South Sudan - Emergency Health Care - Doctors without Borders Canada 2014

March 2014 - The complex humanitarian situation in South Sudan has become much worse since fighting broke out between government and anti-government forces in December 2013. The fighting has displaced some 710 000 people within South Sudan and more than 170 000 South Sudanese have sought protection in neighbouring countries. Agricultural production has been disrupted and essential basic services such as safe drinking water schools and medical facilities have been shut down or destroyed in the fighting. Humanitarian assistance needs throughout 2014 include food health care shelter protection services water sanitation and hygiene. With DFATD’s support Doctors without Borders Canada is providing emergency health care for 40 000 conflict-affected people in Warrap State and in the Abyei Administrative Area South Sudan. Project activities include: (1) establishing emergency mobile health clinics in Abyei; (2) providing emergency obstetric services and reproductive health care to 1 600 pregnant women; (3) prepositioning emergency vaccines and supplemental food for treating malnutrition for 40 000 people; and (4) increasing the capacity of the Agok hospital through training of staff.

The expected immediate outcomes for this project include: (1) increased access to emergency health care; (2) increased capacity of local health centres to address conflict-related emergencies; and (3) increased access to emergency reproductive and obstetric-related care for pregnant women. The expected intermediate outcome is reduced vulnerability of crisis-affected people especially women and children.