Hello Friend,

Chase Bleke, Chief of Operations, Dr. Linda Morgan, a retired UF Health Shands Hospital OBGYN Oncologist and I just returned from completing a Site Survey in Maar, South Sudan. 

Unfortunately, due to the spread of COVID-19 our original trip was cut short. On Monday, March 15, the SSHCO team arrived safely back in the U.S. Despite having to condense our initial three week trip into four days, we accomplished several vital objectives during our time in South Sudan, including: 

The Delivery of 500 shoes to children in the village of Maar.

The delivery of 300lbs of prescription drugs (antibiotics, OTC drugs, etc.) to the people of Maar. A big thank you to Mr. Dan Maxwell and Dr. Linda Morgan for buying the medications for the medical clinic. 

The Delivery of 10 new beds from our bed campaign in December. We could have not made this campaign successful without you! 

Dr. Morgan conducted a Maternal and Child health training and focus group discussed with the women of Maar, as well as the SSHCO team conducted critical meetings with local NGO’s, international NGO’s and South Sudan government officials.

As we have shared in past communications, South Sudan has dangerously inadequate healthcare systems. 

Ranking South Sudan as one of the worst health outcome indicators in the world. According to the WHO, maternal mortality rates currently stand at 789 per 100,000 live births, under-five mortality rates are 39.3 and 99.2 per 1000 live births, respectively. Nearly five decades of civil conflict have left 67 out of 80 counties in South Sudan with inadequate or no access to healthcare services. 

As of today there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in South Sudan, but this is almost certainly due to lack of proper testing – most of South Sudan’s neighbors including Sudan, Ethiopia, Congo, Kenya and Uganda already have confirmed cases.  It is only a matter of time. Coronavirus is particularly dangerous to vulnerable populations, including newborns, and especially where healthcare is weak.

Now more than ever we need to press on with our efforts to bring health and hope to South Sudan. The only way to do this is with your help and continued support.

We are beyond thankful for your continued support now and in the future. On behalf of everyone at SSHCO, thank you. 

Sincerely,

Jacob Atem, PhD,

CEO & Co-founder