MoH, World Bank and UNICEF launch communication campaign to increase awareness on joint programme for health and to widen coalition for support

JUBA, 1 March 2022 – The Ministry of Health, World Bank and UNICEF today launched a communication campaign to highlight the ongoing joint health programme and to increase awareness among a broad coalition of partners to increase investment in the health sector.

The national communication campaign will highlight the joint project of the Ministry of Health, the World Bank and UNICEF which supports COVID-19 vaccine deployment in the country as well as the provision of essential health services for the most vulnerable populations in two of the most hard-to-reach areas – the States of Jonglei and Upper Nile.

The communication campaign will run through the month of March and across multiple media platforms and messaging on the joint health services will be featured on billboards, videos, public service announcements and a TV special on the South Sudan Broadcasting Company which will highlight the achievements in the different health sectors.

The objective of the campaign is to highlight the need for continued investment in the health sector as South Sudan has some of the lowest indicators globally for infant and child mortality, malnutrition, and access to basic health services. Preventable diseases like malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia continue to exact a heavy toll on children and women nationwide. The communication campaign will highlight the importance of various health interventions, including immunization campaigns and the vaccination against COVID-19.

Since 2018, the Ministry of Health, the World Bank and UNICEF have been working together to implement a World Bank-financed health sector project that provides essential maternal and child health services in Jonglei and Upper Nile States.

The project has so far contributed to immunizing 156,991 children with the penta3 vaccine and 153,394 children with the measles vaccines and provided 67,956 pregnant women with antenatal care services. It also ensured that 26,358 newborns were delivered with the help of skilled health personnel. In 2021, the project facilitated the delivery of 587 tons of medical supplies and medicines and supplied soap, buckets, and water purification tablets for 685,000 people in both states. Additional essential supplies are currently reaching the country to maintain the continuity of health services to the most vulnerable populations.

Beginning today, the messages of the national communication campaign will be aired on radio channels and promoted on billboards and the media platforms of the Ministry of Health, the World Bank and UNICEF highlighting the work done to support access to essential health services to the most vulnerable populations in South Sudan.

The Ministry of Health, World Bank and UNICEF partnership supports:

• Nationwide COVID-19 and routine vaccine deployment, building climate-resilient cold chain equipment for safe storage and transport of vaccines, and raising community awareness to promote South Sudan’s COVID-19 vaccine planning and delivery
• Provision of essential health services including high-impact maternal, neonatal, and child health services to 1.8 million people in Jonglei and Upper Nile States
• Building institutional and technical capacity of the Ministry of Health at central and decentralized levels, developing national health policies, states strategic and operational health plans and strengthening emergency preparedness and response
• Development of unified data and reporting management systems to support monitoring, evaluation, and learning
• Development of national capacity to prepare, prevent and respond to public health emergencies