Over 150 participants took a major step to end malaria in South Sudan during the first-ever national malaria conference that took place from 8 to 10 November 2022.

Malaria remains the leading cause of illness and death in the country accounting for 66.8 per cent of outpatient consultations, 30 per cent  of admissions and about 50 per cent of deaths.

“Malaria is preventable and treatable, and we cannot continue to lose lives needlessly”, said H.E. Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi Akol Agany. “We cannot continue doing business as usual. Malaria is an emergency and cannot just be the business of the Ministry of Health. I therefore call upon all of us, the public and private sectors, Intentional Organizations, UN Agencies, NGOS, Civil Society Organizations and communities to take action and fight this disease”, said H.E Abdelbagi.

“Malaria is a disease that is well known to everybody in this nation. It is treatable and preventable, yet half of the people especially children under five years of age and those with compromised immunity die from malaria. Recent data shows that three out of 10 hospital admissions are due to malaria. This shows that we are still a long way to go”, said Honorable Yolanda Awel Deng, Minister of Health, South Sudan.

The Ministry of Health together with its partners has made some progress in terms of prevention, treatment, and case management. “According to the 2017 Malaria Indicator Survey, 48 per cent of households slept under an insecticide treated net the previous night”, said Honorable Deng. “ Hon. Deng pledged USD 500 000 from the 2022/2023 budget to fight malaria and urged partners for continued long-term sustainable support to implement targeted interventions towards reducing the burden of malaria”.