Juba 21 June, 2018 – South Sudan is making headway towards attainment of Universal Health Coverage and addressing the inequity amid instability in some parts of the country. This was echoed during the high-level advocacy meeting with women parliamentarians one of the events to mark the World Health Day under the theme ‘Universal Health Coverage: everyone everywhere’.

Although access to health services countrywide is very low with only 44% of the population living within 5 kilometer radius of a health facility, efforts are in place to address this gap. The Ministry of Health (MoH) with support from WHO and partners is rolling out the Boma Health initiative (BHI) to reach and deliver quality health package of care which is free to the community especially in the hard to reach areas who have no access to health services. The government of South Sudan has also expressed its commitment to the provision of the necessary leadership to significantly decrease maternal and child mortalities.

The Ministry of Health Under Secretary, Dr Makur Matur Kariom representing the Hon Minister of Health during the high-level advocacy meeting said, “South Sudan has made progress to improve new-born, child and maternal health’. He however, noted that ‘there still remains a huge task to be completed as we enter into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) era’. Dr Makur appealed to the parliamentarians, the women’s groups, other line Ministries, Donors and partners to join hands to support the Ministry of Health in promoting the health of women and children which is central to development.

The WHO Representative a.i. for South Sudan, Mr Evans Liyosi, read the Regional Director’s message for the World Health Day and noted that as South Sudan is making progress towards achieving Universal Health Coverage, there is need to walk the talk by increasing funding to address the gap in health care financing. Nothing will help women and girls more than ensuring that everyone, everywhere, can benefit from quality health services when and where they need them, without fear of falling into poverty when using them. He also underscored the importance of the Ministry of Health BHI flagship program which involves community engagement as a key strategy for improving maternal and child health.

Others including the Canadian Ambassador, representatives from DFID, USAID, H6 partners, the women groups, the Chair of the Women caucus in parliament and others who support the Universal health coverage especially for women children and adolescents, participated in the World Health Day advocacy event and made good will remarks. The women’s caucus reiterated that they would carry out their function of representation of the people, to advocate for increased budget allocation and to support the Ministry of health to ensure that the programmes are being implemented.

During the same event, to demonstrate WHO’s commitment to leave no one behind, over 70 street children were mobilised, bathed, their hair shaved to ward off lice infestations, clothed, fed, given toys and immunized against cholera, meningitis, and tetanus. Water filters, soap to improve hygiene and other food items were given to one of the orphanage home. The parliamentarians had time to interact with the street children as they contemplated on how to help this neglected group of children.

A pledge statement was endorsed by all who attended the advocacy event, committing themselves to play their different roles and responsibilities to improve Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health in South Sudan as the country moves towards attaining Universal Health Coverage by 2030.