The National Health Minister of South Sudan, Yolanda Awel Deng has revealed that the country continues to rank among the world’s lowest in the health sector due to high cases of preventable maternal deaths.
According to Yolanda Awel Deng, there are 1150 cases of such mortalities per 100,000 live births, indicating that some action is required immediately.
“Sudan still faces numerous challenges and barriers. It has one of the world’s worst indicators of health. “The maternal mortality rate remains high, estimated at 1150 per 100,000 live births, and this scale is very high,” Yolanda said.
She was speaking during the launch of three health policy documents on Thursday in Juba. They include the Reproductive Health Policy 2019–2029, the Family Planning Implementation Plan 2021–2026, and the Family Planning 2030 Commitments.
The documents developed by the Ministry of Health with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) aim at elevating, among other key health issues, the unmet eradication of maternal mortality in South Sudan.
According to Yolanda, financial constraints, coupled with the low allocation of the national budget to the ministry of health, have a tremendous negative impact on efforts to deliver quality healthcare services to the citizens.
Yolanda said her ministry would do what it could in collaboration with international health partners to ensure quality healthcare services to the population.
“The ministry is working so hard to ensure the delivery of healthcare services to South Sudanese as stipulated in our vision of a healthy and productive population in South Sudan living a dignified life.”
