Abstract

Upon the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, the Republic of South Sudan (RSS) has faced a lot of challenges, such as a lack of infrastructure, human resources and an enormous burden of vector borne diseases including malaria. While a national malaria strategic plan 2006-2011 was developed, the vector control component has remained relatively weak. The strategy endorses the distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) as the frontline intervention with other interventions recommended only when technical and institutional capacity is available. In 2006, a draft integrated vector management (IVM) strategic plan 2007–2012 was developed but never implemented, resulting in minimal coordination, implementation and coverage of malaria vector control tools including their inherent impact. To address this challenge, the vector control team of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) is being strengthened. With the objective of building national capacity and technical collaboration for effective implementation of the IVM strategy, a national malaria vector control conference was held from 15-17th October 2012 in Juba. A range of NMCP partners, state ministries, acadaemia, private sector, national and international non-governmental organizations, including regional and global policymakers attended the meeting. The conference represented a major milestone and made recommendations revolving around the five key elements of the IVM approach. The meeting endorsed that vector control efforts in RSS be augmented with other interventions within the confines of the IVM strategy as a national approach, with strong adherence to its key elements.

Highlights

  • The Republic of South Sudan (RSS) is a heartland of several vector-borne diseases, including malaria [1]

  • The 2009 Malaria Indicator Survey found that 53% of households in South Sudan owned an ITN; 25% of children less than five years of age and 36% of pregnant women had slept under an ITN the night before the survey [4]

  • While a more recent survey conducted by NetWorks/Malaria Consortium in Lainya County (April 2012) found higher household ownership of ITNs (66.3%), use of the nets was still low with only 27% of children having used the nets [6]

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Summary

Background

The Republic of South Sudan (RSS) is a heartland of several vector-borne diseases, including malaria [1]. To strengthen malaria vector control, the Ministry of Health (MoH) has adopted the integrated vector management (IVM) strategy for the control and prevention of vector-borne diseases – including malaria [7] This followed the endorsement of IVM as a regional strategic approach through a WHO Regional Committee Resolution (EM/RC52.R6) in 2005 for the Eastern Mediterranean [8]. 6. To guide the choices and overall implementation of vector control interventions, there is need to establish sentinel sites across the country for entomological (vector bionomics and insecticide resistance) monitoring- including data on LLIN life span in the field, along with the establishment of a national group of experts to analyse and interpret resistance data to guide national policies and procurement decisions. Advocate for Government support and commitment in strengthening human resource and institutional capabilities for vector control at state and county levels

Conclusions
Findings
GoSS: Neglected Tropical Diseases and Their Control in Southern Sudan
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