National parliament
South Sudan parliamentary network for population and development committee has organized a training on population and development and right based approach to Family planning in Lake state.
In collaboration with health partners, the Lakes State government officials plans to enhance capacity building under Theme: uniting and Empowering Legislators to address population issues through Evidence based policy Making.
Project Officer Reproductive Health Association of South Sudan (RHASS) Loku Lawrence said the advocacy will lead into the singing of communique on the state declaration in support of family planning in Lakes State.
” We have conducted advocacy before and it is second time after 2023 . We came here and we conducted it and this one is different from what happened in the past year and this one will result into the singing of communique “, he said.
He added that he had another training in Torit last month and it was endorsed among the stakeholders who were invited.
He said the purpose is to cover the 10 States and it will depend on the funds that’s available because it requires the mobility.
State Minister of Gender child and social welfare, Angelina Ding Mario said Lakes State has eight counties and the majority of the population are women and children.
” The women and children are the majority and they are the vulnerable, you are much concern about it and that’s why you have come so that they should be addressed in term of health”. Said Ding
She said the health of the population is number one followed by education.
” If you did not survive during the delivery time you will not gain anything and you will not be in this room like us . So, it is very important for all of us and that’s why we have Doctors here also and we have law makers, security personnel, ministry of gender, and we have members of Parliament to address this issue “. She added
She said she has a campaign where stakeholders will talk to the mothers because the mothers have their own problem.
” When. You deliver, or you don’t do child spacing or you don’t go to the main hospital to do check, there will be complications during the delivery time “. She said.
She said that’s why we are here as parliamentarian to talk about it and let us correct ourselves and do our thing alone.
Acting Director General Ministry of health Lakes State Ezekiel Mourwel Maker said that the program in which we are here today is the health program and it is a reproductive health, maternal and child health program.
He said and this health care activities is not particularly for the doctors.
He said it is a collective responsibility for different line ministries and for different partners and for those who are taking care of the law like parliamentarian and judiciary such that we come together and do discuss on how to address the health care issues.
He said the death rate among the women of reproductive age during pregnancy and during the delivery and after the delivery up to 42 days.
” So, with this indicator , it was found very abnormal if we compare with other countries, South Sudan was leading in this condition and with efforts from various partners, we managed to reduce it and as the same time the intervention that reduced it, is the opening of health sciences institute whereby the health care workers are being trained and graduated and they go and work in the health facilities.” He said.
He said it is the formulation of policies that guide the service delivery like reproductive policy and family planning policy.
” The commitment and our support from the legislation at the national and State level at the same time. It is the improvement of the infrastructure in the health facilities such that the health facilities can offer a quality health care services like comprehensive emergency obstetrics care , basic emergency obstetrics care services that can be delivered at various levels of health care facilities. So these are the things that contributed”, he said.
” Provision of ambulance, to facilitate the emergency referrals for obstetrics and gynecological issues. So, these are the things that contribute to the reeducation of maternal, mortality to 692 as per now. But, still we need to do our great efforts to reduce it to certain level”.
He said if the neighboring countries like Uganda do have for example 35 per 100 lives births and we are still at 600 and above because without comparison we do make with neighboring countries Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia.
He said if they reduced it to that lower level we need also to make sure that we reduce rate among our women and children in the country because with reproduction this is where we have the population.
” We need also to work hard to cover the diseases that killed people at the early age upto a certain whereby somebody is supposed to stay “, he said.
” If this person is protected from the diseases. So, we talked of quality population and that’s a concern of Parliament because they have taken that initiative to make sure the population that’s needed should be free from diseases and should be protected from certain death that should not occur if there are some intervention “.
Majur Babur Ajal Chairperson of South Sudan parliamentary network for population and development in the national parliament said South Sudan parliamentary network on population and development the committee established in the national Parliament is to oversee the issues to do with the population health.
He said while you are on the world you can still be breathing and this mean that the country is going well.
” Number one is the designated Land because we have a Land known as a republic of South Sudan which comprised of 10 States and 3 administrative areas, second, resources because there’s no land without resources “.
He said we have water, oil, forests and the third one is the population that we have as a country.
He said the resources we have do not have a meaning if we don’t utilize them and that’s the meaning of the population.
He said the important of South Sudan parliamentary network on population is to take care of this population .
” There is legislation, and that we have a law on gender based violence and whenever you violate it than you are liable for punishment because woman is a human being like you, and there is family law”, he said”. There is a child act and in that there is a law if your child is 6 years, you must take that child to school “.
