UNFPA South Sudan have secured funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development for a five-year project to strengthen the human resources for improved sexual reproductive health and Gender based violence prevention and management. There is a considerable need to strengthen South Sudan's health sector, which is characterized by a limited availability of basic health services, a shortage of drugs and medical supplies, a critical shortage of functional health facilities with poor access, and a severe shortage of skilled health care workers, as well as entrenched socio-cultural norms that perpetuates gender inequality. These realities combined with decades of conflict have contributed to the country's worst health indicators in the world, especially for women and girls. Women's and girls' poor health outcomes are further exacerbated by a lack of awareness of their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), a predominantly patriarchal society undermining their autonomy to make informed decisions about their own health care, widespread gender-based violence (GBV), and inadequate SRHI GBV policy and legal frameworks to protect and empower women and girls to timely report and access.
This project aims to increase the realization of the health and rights of women and girls in South Sudan by increasing the availability of skilled health care providers, positively changing attitudes toward SRHR and combating GBV, community engagement for positive gender norms and supporting the government to develop and implement related policies and legislative frameworks. It will build on the successes of, and lessons learned from Canada's previous support to UNFPA through the six-year Strengthening Midwifery Services in South Sudan, Phase 2 project and two previous projects targeting midwifery education and deploying midwives across the country.
