About South Sudan

On July 9, 2011, South Sudan gained independence from Sudan after a brutal civil war that lasted more than two decades, claimed more than 2 million lives and displaced about 4 million civilians from their homes. The new Republic of South Sudan has a population of over 12 million people and is demographically among the youngest nations in the world with roughly half of the population under 18 years old.

Decades of civil war, continued political unrest and outbreaks of violence have made for an unstable infrastructure in the region. South Sudan lacks a functioning healthcare system and has some of the worst maternal and child health indicators in the world. This, combined with cultural expectations for women to begin reproducing at a young age, makes reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health one of the biggest development challenges facing the newest country in the world. 2018 statistics from the World Health Organization indicate that the infant mortality rate is 40 per 1000 live births, and children under the age of five are dying at the rate of 98 per 1000 live births - the highest in the world. Only 28% of expectant mothers receive prenatal care from skilled health providers, leading to a high maternal mortality ratio of 1150 per 100,000 live births.

The Republic of South Sudan will continue to face health care challenges as the nation deals with famine, flooding and the lack of clean drinking water. The primary causes of morbidity and mortality are diarrheal diseases, acute respiratory tract infections (ARI), malnutrition and malaria. Malaria alone accounts for 25 percent of all deaths and up to 40% of all patient visits. Failure of the system to reach the under-served population in their villages results in a lack of cost effective life saving interventions. Access to basic primary health care services—specifically maternal and child health care services—will continue to be a top priority issue in post-civil-war South Sudan.