Daniel Mariano Nyiki area local chief speaking to Eye Radio in Kwarajek Payam in Juba - June 28, 2020 -credit | Garang Abraham | Eye Radio

More than 30 women and over 50 infants have died between 2019 and 2020 due to lack of a health facility in the area, the local chief of  Kwarajek Payam said.

South Sudan’s infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world, According to the UN.

As per the UNFPA report in 2019, the country’s maternal death rate was estimated at 789 deaths per 100,000 live births – one of the highest in the world.

Most deaths are attributed to a lack of health care facilities and few qualified midwives in the country.

According to Daniel Mariano – Kwarajek Payam local chief, death of children has now become normal stories in the area – just about 10 kilometers north-east of the capital Juba.

He says between 2019 and 2020 alone, the Payam which has no single primary health care center registered about 30 women who died while giving birth, and over 50 infants lost during the labor period.

Speaking to Eye Radio in an exclusive interview over the weekend, Mariano appeals to humanitarian agencies and the government to intervene.

“People [women] that have died due to labor-related complications have passed more than 30,” the local chief said.

“This year alone, 5 women have died. Last year, 10 died and this month alone, in these few days when you people came, two women died.”

“Some infants who lost their mothers are there, they are taken to cattle camp and cow milk helps them. But many kids have died.”

When South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, the country had only 6 registered midwives.

But with support from UNFPA and other partners, the country of over 12 million people now has about 700 registered midwives.