The Ministry of Health in collaboration with United Nations Population fund has launched a campaign to end Obstetric Fistula in the county.

In 2016, South Sudan carried it first campaign, where the country had treated almost 700 fistula cases and about 19 was successfully operated.

The program was launched at the Juba Teaching Hospital on Wednesday.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Riek Gai said the program will help in saving lives of mothers.

“This program is avoidable, its treatable or repairable, and I think this is what the UNFPA are doing to avoid it. They have been helping us,” said Dr Riak Gai.

The representative at the UNFPA, Esperance Fundira said they need to establish a task-force to develop clear strategy for elimination of fistula in south Sudan. She said there is need to improve registrations and follow up with fistula survives to easy access to medical treatment.

The campaign will target 40 Obstetric fistula cases in the in two locations of juba and Aweil within two weeks.

According to Fistula Foundation Organization, South Sudan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, at 730 deaths per 100,000 live birth.

The organization says each woman has a 1 in 28 chance of dying from pregnancy-related causes during her lifetime.

World Health Organization also says for each woman that dies in childbirth, an estimated 20 additional women suffer from devastating childbirth injuries like obstetric fistula.

It also cited that political instability within the country has led to mass internal displacement and an escalating economic crisis, both of which greatly reduce availability and accessibility to maternal healthcare services.

It says the ongoing conflict adds to numerous recurrent challenges caused by decades of civil war, regular epidemic outbreaks, seasonal flooding, underdevelopment and extreme poverty.

WHO further says early marriage and teenage pregnancy are common, the fertility rate is high, and very few women give birth in the presence of a skilled attendant. This is due to a lack of adequate maternal health care services and/or women’s inability to access them – grave ongoing security concerns restrict free movement, especially at night.