Shelter/NFI:
CARD has been providing crucial Non Food Items and Shelter facilities for the most vulnerable households and communities in various parts of the Country including Western Equatoria through the support of UNICEF and NFI/Shelter State Focal Points. This has been achieved via timely prepositioning of essential NFI kits via key pipeline lead agencies such as IOM. These interventions have been vital in providing protection, mitigating health risks and helping in restoration of dignity to crisis- and disaster-affected populations.
Health:
South Sudan has some of the worst health indicators in the world. Maternal mortality rate is very high at 2054/100,000. Although about 46% of women attend at least one ANC visit, institutional deliveries account for less then 13% of all births. And contraceptive prevalence rate is very low at 4.7%, with huge unmet need. The outlook for children is equally gruesome with infant mortality rate (IMR) and under-five mortality rate (UMR) at 102 and 135 per 1000 live births, respectively.
This clearly demonstrated that women and children bear the brunt of the burden of sickness. As such, CARD endeavours to work alongside women and children to ensure that the have access to essential health information and life-saving services to realise improvement in the health.
CARD strives to provide primary health care services to displaced populations, and also to strengthen host communication by ensuring that their facilities are functional and are able to absorb increased load from the influx of IDPs. The following are some areas, which CARD a lot of interest in:
1. Child Health Services
a. Integrated management of childhood illnesses (IMCI) including referral
b. Routine Immunization and support to Campaigns
c. Vitamin A supplementation
d. Promotion of early initiation and exclusive breast feeding and adequate infant and young child nutrition.
e. Promotion of hygiene at health facilities and in the household
2. Reproductive Health
a. FP/Birth spacing
b. Focused antenatal care (FANC)
c. PMTCT
d. Safe and Hygienic Delivery
e. C/BEmONC
f. Postpartum care
g. Treatment and control of sexually transmitted infections.
3. Control of major communicable diseases
a. Support to preparedness, detection and response to infectious disease outbreak including surveillance and reporting.
b. Promotion and distribution of insecticide-treated nets
c. Intermittent preventative treatment of malaria in pregnancy
d. Support to water, sanitation and hygiene and basic medical waste management in facilities.
e. Management of diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia.
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH):
The lack of safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene practices have left a large proportion of South Sudan’s population at persistent risk of preventable waterborne diseases. The recent violence and large-scale displacement of people to areas without sufficient access to clean water and proper sanitation has greatly increased their vulnerability. Poor sanitary conditions pose a major public health risk, including potential cholera outbreaks. CARD’s immediate priority is to provide safe drinking water and emergency latrines, and promote good hygiene in order to prevent outbreaks and the spread of water related disease.
In particular, CARD will:
Ensure improved access to clean water for displaced people by trucking in water whenever practicable, treating water and/or rehabilitating water boreholes/water pumps.
Support displaced populations and other vulnerable communities with emergency latrines and basic hygiene activities and.
Plan and prepare for the rainy season, including any acute diarrhoea outbreaks, by pre-positioning WASH relief items in Western Equatoria and Upper nile states.
Nutrition
Malnutrition has spiked as a result of lack of access to safe water and sanitation, increasing disease rates, rising food insecurity and conflict. More than 1 million people across South Sudan are now acutely malnourished. This includes an estimated more than 231,300 children under age 5 who are severely acutely malnourished (SAM), more than 454,900 children who are moderately acutely malnourished (MAM), some 316,200 pregnant and lactating women and 3,900 elderly IDPs in PoCs. The resumption of intensified conflict in April 2015 led to the closure of 80 outpatient therapeutic programme and 91 therapeutic supplementary feeding programme sites in Unity and Upper Nile States between April and June, cutting off access to treatment for more than 5,600 SAM and nearly 17,500 MAM children. Out of 50 counties surveyed in 2015, 33 had Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates deemed to be critical (above 15 per cent), including two counties in Unity where GAM rates were more than twice the emergency threshold (Humanitarian Needs Overview Report 2016). Children suffering from severe acute malnutrition are nine times more likely to die than their healthy peers, while those with moderate acute malnutrition are three times more likely to die. To mitigate these, CARD specifically aims to undertake the following actions;
Provide treatment for SAM and MAM in children under 5 years, P&LW and other vulnerable groups.
Conduct training to health workers and CHD on treatment of SAM and MAM and waste disposal in line with national guidelines in counties within the HFs.
Provide micronutrient supplementation to children under 5 years and P&LW Conduct Community and health facility screening and referrals
Support and promote appropriate infant and young child feeding practices through community awareness
Establish the formation of MSGs which will be gender inclusive to PLW and their husbands
Formation of a demonstration gardens and cooking lessons to Pregnant & Lactating Women (PLW) and mothers/caregivers of children who are acutely malnourished
Provide refresher training to Health workers, mothers support groups, Community Nutrition Volunteers (CNVs) and community based organizations on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and hygiene
Provide nutrition, hygiene, IYCF education/information through local radio stations at least once a week in conjunction with State Ministry of Education and SMoH
Train and support Mother support groups on micronutrient promotion through vegetable production and also school gardens.
Train CHD, health workers and CNVs in EP&R.