By Adia Jildo
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) together with the Swedish Embassy on Thursday signed a three- year country program to boost provision of integrated sexual and reproductive health services in South Sudan.
The program dubbed the fourth-year country program will also help mitigate gender based violence.
“The contribution of 90 million Swedish Krones ($8.4 million) is to support the implementation of the UNFPA 4th Country Programme of Assistance to the government of South Sudan over a period of three years,” Dr. Demola Olajide, the UNFPA country representative said during the signing ceremony in Juba.
He acknowledged the support of the Swedish government towards improvement of access to maternal and newborn care, family planning, and prevention and response to gender-based violence.
“This generous contribution from the Government and people of Sweden continues to support the implementation of interventions to provide integrated sexual and reproductive health services in the country, especially improving the well-being of women, girls and young people,” Olajide said.
Tomas Brundin, Head of Mission at the Embassy of Sweden in South Sudan, said that services will be provided to those in need through the UNFPA accelerator agenda to respect the rights, safety and wellbeing of women and girls.
“Sweden will contribute in the most effective way towards UNFPA’s vision that every woman, girl, and youth in South Sudan should be able to enjoy sexual and reproductive health and rights of high quality, increased equality between women and men,”Brundin said.
The project will also mitigate the rampant early and forced child marriages in the country.
The program will among aim to improve access to modern contraceptives from 6% to 10%, attendance from 19% to 27%, increase skill birth attendance from 19% to 27% and also reduce partner violence against women from 22% to around 20%.
Brundin called on the national government to invest in sexual and reproductive health rights.
He said that investments in the educational and health sectors have positive effect on the empowerment of women and girls, provided that national policies on gender equality are translated into action and boys and men are involved as gender champions.
