Heath authorities are making plans to cut by half the rates of maternal and child mortality in South Sudan.
GoSS health Minister Luka Tombekana Monoja Monoja told SCR News that this is the priority of the Government of South Sudan.He added that 2054 mothers die in every 100 thousand five births, the highest rate of maternal mortality in the world.
Dr. Monoja said in South Sudan there are hospitals in seven of the ten states and of the 79 counties only 27 have health facilities and not of them are working.
He added that if every county had a clinical officer, a midwife and a nurse together with means tro bring pregnant or delivering mothers to a health centre within two years the number of maternal death would be halved.
Dr. Monoja said the government needs to train skilled personnel, including midwives, surgeons and paediatricians, put health facilities in place, develop a deferral system and make emergency drugs available in order to win the battle against maternal mortality.
He added that there are three schools of nursing that take every year 30 students each for a three-year course and it plans to establish another three schools for clinical officers with a capacity of 45 students each per year.
Dr. Monoja appealed to volunteer doctors and midwives to come from abroad to work at state and county hospitals until South Sudan has enough medical staff to run the facilities.