South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Health on Tuesday launched a project aimed at supporting resilience among flood hit communities in Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile states.
The project financed to a tune of 4.5 million U.S dollars by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), will provide life-saving and integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health and Gender Based Violence services in humanitarian settings.
Esperance Fundira, UNFPA Officer in Charge said access to reproductive health services for women and girls remains challenging in Upper Nile region, putting lives of most women and girls at high risk.
Fundira noted that the generous funding will scale-up the health and protection services for the well-being of women and girls.
Fundira said the majority of South Sudan’s population have limited access to fundamental social services, adding that the project will help in responding to the needs and improving the well-being of women and girls affected by severe insecurity and climate shocks.
She also said that socio-cultural beliefs and norms pose additional barriers to sexual and reproductive health services.
Fundira noted that conflict-related sexual violence, Gender Based Violence, and child protection issues remain prevalent among various groups including refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and individuals with disabilities.
“This project will be implemented in Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile states. The three geographical locations remain strategic for UNFPA South Sudan’s programmatic interventions – ensuring equitable access to critical SRH services, GBV protection and response services for populations affected,” she said.
The KOICA-UNFPA partnership will be implemented for the period of three years from 2024 to 2026 to increase the availability of quality lifesaving, integrated SRH and GBV services in protracted crisis.
