Profiles of health-related organisations working in Southern Sudan: Malaria Consortium and Population Services International Sudan
The Southern Sudan Medical Journal is planning to publish the profiles of Non Governmental Organisations (both international and local) and other organisations working in health related fields in Southern Sudan. We hope this will help to publicise the valuable work these are doing, and allow people to make closer links with each other. In this issue we are pleased to present the profiles of the Malaria Consortium and the Population Services International Sudan.Each has responded to questions we sent. If you would like us to publish a similar profile of your organisation in a future issue of the Journal, please send it to Dr Eluzai Hakim ([email protected]) or Dr Wani Mena ([email protected]).
Malaria Consortium
What is the Malaria Consortium? The Malaria Consortium is a global leader dedicated to malaria and communicable disease control. It aims to improve the delivery of prevention and treatment to combat malaria and other communicable diseases in Africa and Asia, frequently working with civil society to achieve this goal.
How long has the Consortium been active in S Sudan? Since 2006.
Where do you work? The Consortium has four offices; Juba is the regional office with three field offices in Aweil, Malakal and Bentiu.
How many staff do you have? In Southern Sudan, the consortium has approximately 50 staff members both national and international; 25 these work in the Juba office.
What are your main health-related activities? Support for health systems strengthening systems and direct implementation for communicable disease control services such as malaria case management and treatment, child survival programmes, Long Lasting Insecticide treated Nets (LLIN) distributions and mapping of neglected tropical diseases and drug administration.
What are your main achievements to date? The Malaria Consortium has supported the Ministry of Health with the development of the malaria control strategic plan, as well as providing technical assistance and guidelines for malaria in pregnancy, surveillance systems and global fund proposal development. Malaria Consortium has also supported State Ministries of Health with health systems strengthening programmes and is currently implementing a national integrated neglected tropical disease control programme.
What are your main constraints and challenges? The working environment within Southern Sudan is challenging on a day to day basis. Factors such as the rainy season brings obstacles to field work such as the difficulty to get out into the villages; high turn over of staff and the ongoing political instability of the region all remain constraints and challenges.
What is your vision for the future? The Malaria Consortium’s vision for the future is to reduce the burden of malaria and to improve access to treatment for all as well as eliminate neglected tropical diseases in southern Sudan.
What message would you like to give to readers of Southern Sudan Medical Journal? Within the southern Sudan context, working to strengthen the health system is challenging but has substantial potential and Malaria Consortium looks forward to continuing its work with the Ministry of Health and partners to contribute to this.
How can readers get more information on the Consortium? For more information about the Malaria Consortium please see the Malaria Consortium website www.malariaconsortium.org .
Thanks to Gemma Bruley for sending this information.
Population Services International (PSI) Sudan
What is PSI and how long have you been working in South Sudan? PSI is a non-profit organisation, based in Washington DC, USA committed to addressing health problems of low-income and vulnerable populations in more than 60 developing countries world-wide. PSI Sudan began operations in Southern Sudan in 2005.
Where in South Sudan do you work and how many staff do you have? PSI Sudan has offices in Juba, Yei and Wau with supported activities in 8 states. There are approximately 120 full time staff members. During the mass Long Lasting Insecticide treated Nets (LLIN) distribution in 2009 and 2010, PSI Sudan worked with over 20,000 volunteers.
What are your main health-related activities? Programmes conducted by PSI Sudan focus on three health areas: malaria, HIV and diarrhoeal diseases. Interventions include behaviour change communications campaigns, social marketing of products, capacity development of Community Based Organisations, and health systems strengthening starting at the village level with Community Based Distributors and working up through the health system framework to the national level.
What are your main achievements to date? In collaboration with international and local partners, the PSI Sudan Malaria Department has distributed over 3.6 million Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets in 8 states (see photo), as well as
developed a network of community based distributors of Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACTs) for children under the age of 5. Using private sector techniques to socially market health commodities, PSI Sudan has distributed 4,297,104 Number One condoms as well as 21,803,250 WaterGuard tablets and 539,220 PUR Sachets that together provide 441,457,200 litres of safe drinking water since the beginning of the programme in Southern Sudan in 2005.
With which departments, agencies and NGOs do you work? PSI Sudan is proud to include the following agencies as partners: Ministry of Health, Ministry of Water Resources & Irrigation, Southern Sudan AIDS Commission (SSAC), SPLA HIV/AIDS Secretariat, UNICEF, UNDP, Sudanese Red Crescent Society, and many other non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations.
How can readers get more information about PSI? By visiting our website at http://www.psi.org/sudan
Thanks to Jane Czerwinski for sending this information.
