Southern Sudan > Programme description
1. How long has Medair been in the country?
Improvement of access to health care
Medair first started operating in Southern Sudan in 1992 and has had a permanent presence since 1995. Until 2005, Medair was part of Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS), a coalition of 40 different agencies working together to improve living conditions in the region. Medair has now signed a memorandum of understanding for humanitarian cooperation with the U.N. Resident Coordinator’s office.
2. What is Medair doing in the country?
Medair’s overall goal within Southern Sudan is to increase access to health care, safe water, and, in cases of acute crisis, emergency relief services. Medair is committed to remaining in the region until emergency relief and rehabilitation is no longer needed, or until needs are met by other agencies. Its top priority is to provide for the most vulnerable people, often specifically targeting women of child-bearing age and children under five.
As with all of Medair’s programmes, there is a strong emphasis on capacity building in Southern Sudan. Medair equips members of the local community with new knowledge and skills to facilitate local ownership and long-term sustainability of projects. Central to its work is a focus on its relationship with beneficiaries; Medair strives to attain the highest levels of beneficiary accountability in its programmes.
3. Where are we working?
Maroantsetra:
In this northeast district, Medair is focused on capacity building, hygiene promotion, water and sanitation infrastructures, disaster risk reduction, preparedness, and mitigation.
The situation in Maroantsetra is very precarious. The district does not have enough safe water points for its more than 200,000 inhabitants. Most of the population relies on contaminated river water. Even the families using open wells are not safe, because most of the wells are contaminated by fecal matter, due to inappropriate usage and poor construction. Only the sealed wells with hand pumps constructed by Medair ensure access to clean water.
Fénérive-Est:
In this district, Medair is supporting the local partner NGO FSG to implement a WASH project similar to the one in Maroantsetra District. This will increase the impact of the project and the capacity to local actors. Both districts are in the Analanjirofo administration region.
The situation in Fénérive-Est, home to 260,000 inhabitants, is similar to the needs in the Maroantsetra District, with very minimal access to clean water and high vulnerability to cyclones.
4. How many people are working for Medair in Southern Sudan?
Medair employs eight internationally recruited staff (IRS) and 77 nationally recruited staff (NRS) in Madagascar.