A woman is feeding her son in Save the Children's stabilization center in Mershing.

Save the Children opened its Southern Sudan office in 2000, and has worked nonstop since to address children's needs through programs that provide access to clean water, health care, protection and education. The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 removed the greatest obstacle to humanitarian efforts in the region and has allowed Save the Children to move from emergency efforts to longer-term relief.

Programs reach children in four states in Southern Sudan: the Upper Nile, Jonglei, Western Equatoria and Lakes states.  We are one of the leading agencies in community-based interventions in these states and our strong relationships with government ministries and other partners allows us to reach more children and help communities develop the capacity to sustain children's progress.

Challenges for Children

Southern Sudan was the scene of Africa's longest running civil war, which took the lives of an estimated 1.5 million Sudanese and forced 4 million more from their homes. The wreckage of war has been exacerbated by natural disasters, civil and tribal conflicts and political instability. The signing of the CPA has encouraged displaced families to return, yet they find few resources in a region that's had no development for nearly a half-century.

Southern Sudan has the highest infant-mortality rates and the lowest education indicators in the world. Children who were forced to serve as child soldiers and children orphaned by the war have severe psycho-social needs. The repeated blows to the infrastructure and institutions have created extremely limited basic and necessary services. School attendance rates are the lowest globally and are especially poor among girls. Most Southern Sudanese are unable to receive basic health care. There is little access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene, encouraging the spread of infectious diseases.

Numbers at a Glance

• 2 percent of boys and less than 1 percent of girls complete primary education
• 7 percent of teachers have had formal training
• 82 percent of girls currently do not attend school
• Infant mortality: 150 per 1,000 live births
• Under-5 mortality: 250 per 1,000 live births
• Maternal mortality: 1,700 per 100,000 live births – 10 times that of Europe.
• 45 percent of children suffer from physical stunting resulting from malnutrition.

Our Response

Health: As health is the first step towards recovery, Save the Children manages 53 primary health care facilities with local partners. Some of the centers represent the first social service infrastructure established in South Sudan in almost 20 years. Our centers treat children with diarrhea, malaria and respiratory infections and provide women with prenatal care, labor and delivery services and postnatal care. We also offer immunizations, distribute insecticide-treated bed nets and Vitamin A. Other health projects create and rehabilitate water supplies and educate families on hygiene and sanitation.

HIV/AIDS: As refugees return from countries with high rates of HIV/AIDS infection, there is the potential for a spike in Sudan's relatively low HIV infection rate. Save the Children has worked with local partners to make Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) available at health centers. Through VCT, individuals who test positive for HIV can receive counseling and be referred to available care and support services, such as support groups, treatment of infections, and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. In 2007, 40 peer educators delivered messages on HIV/AIDS to over 87,700 individuals and distributed over 85,000 condoms.

Education: Save the Children and other members of the International Save the Children Alliance are increasing children's access to basic education in eight states of Southern Sudan: Lakes, Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, Jonglei, Western Equatoria and Upper Nile. Through our Rewrite the Future campaign, we provide an accelerated learning program for out-of-school children and vocational opportunities for young people ages 14-18. We are improving the quality of education by training teachers, training teacher tutors, and by making sure schools have latrines, clean water and teaching materials. As of 2007, 3,390 children had completed our accelerated learning program, allowing them to re-enter school. We had trained 450 female teachers and built seven schools and one teacher training facility.

Plans for the Future

Save the Children's primary health care programs will continue to promote prevention activities and serve children, women and their families. As demand for HIV testing and counseling increases, our work will expand to provide home-based care and a basic package of essential care services for people living with HIV. Our school health and nutrition program will continue to improve the health and education status of children. The education program will seek to increase children's enrollment in and completion of primary education and provide children with a foundation for their primary education.

How a Health Clinic Makes a Difference

Before Save the Children established a primary health care unit in Domeri, Katerina and other women had to walk 12 miles to the nearest health facility. During her previous pregnancies Katerina had no prenatal care or any check-ups. Through our health unit, she received vaccinations, routine check-ups, birthing assistance by a trained midwife, and a long-lasting insecticide treated bed net to help protect her and her newborn from possible malaria infection. Katerina is able to bring her young child to the facility for check-ups and vaccinations. As Save the Children continues supporting and opening health facilities across South Sudan, more women will feel as Katerina does. "It is good to have a facility here. Before, we started trekking in search of health care before dawn, leaving behind our children alone at our homes."