South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The Vice President and Chairperson for the Service Delivery Cluster, Josephine Lagu, on Tuesday, announced that the transitional government plans to prioritise health in national planning and budgeting.
“We pledge to prioritise health in national planning and budgeting. The health of our nation is a bedrock upon which all other development rests; the state of our health is a central pillar of our service delivery mandate,” said Lagu during the opening of the Fourth National Health Summit under the theme: Transforming Health Systems for Equity, Resilience, and Impact.
“The President is working hard to stabilise the security situation in our country, as this will be a necessary prerequisite for effective health service delivery,” she added.
Sarah Cleto Rial, the Minister of Health, urged the transitional government to allocate 15 per cent of the national budget to health, emphasising that the national health budget must align with the Abuja Declaration.
“While the needs of our people and the demands of our global commitments require a spirit of cooperation, the true measure of our progress is not just against our national targets but also against global benchmarks,” stated Rial.
David Ashley, the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to South Sudan, highlighted that South Sudan has achieved significant progress in health under the Health Sector Transformation Project (HSTP).
“The HSTP has provided up to 85 per cent of all functional health services in the country. The recent midterm review has identified progress, and we celebrate the courage of health workers who attend to the needs of the people,” said Ashley.
Humphrey Karamagi, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) country representative in South Sudan, noted that the country faces numerous challenges, including climate shocks and disease threats.
“In a health landscape as dynamic as South Sudan’s, we are confronted daily with different environmental shocks, regular population movements, and evolving disease threats,” said Karamagi.
Mohamed Abchir, the Country Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), affirmed the UN’s commitment to supporting the government in transforming the health sector.
“Our shared experiences remind us that the determinants of health extend far beyond clinical facilities. Survival is shaped by nutrition, access to clean water, educational opportunities, and household resilience to economic or climate shocks,” explained Abchir.
“Our collective support in terms of health, nutrition, water and sanitation, protection, food security, and education is firmly aligned with the government’s health sector strategic plan. We are committed to advancing beyond fragmented interventions towards integrated and systemic strengthening,” he concluded.
