By Charles K Mark
Government and health partners are set to roll out a new health project to scale up support to1158 health facilities across the 10 states and 3 administrative areas over the 3-year project lifetime.
The project dubbed ‘Health Sector Transformation Project (HSTP)’ is set to commence in July this year. This is after the Health Pooled Fund will phase out support to the provision of essential health service delivery at the end of this month, after 12 years.
“South Sudan is grateful for the contributions of the HPF over the last decade in supporting the government to deliver lifesaving health services for our population across some of the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach parts of the country. The programme has been instrumental in delivering essential medicine and health supplies, training health workers and strengthening our fragile health system,” Minister of Health Yolanda Awel Deng said in a statement.
The new Health Sector Transformation Project (HSTP) establishes a nationwide health service delivery platform, led by the Ministry of Health in partnership with the World Bank and other donor partners.
UNICEF and WHO will support the implementation of health service delivery and strengthening the health system respectively as managing organizations, according to the statement.
“We are excited to progress into this new phase of health service delivery across the whole nation through the HSTP- led and owned by the government. We are aiming to have a more integrated and strengthened national health system to improve the health and wellbeing of all men women and children, and tackle the health challenges we face today and, in the future,” said Minister Awel.
Led by the UK Government, jointly funded by the Governments of the United States, Canada, Sweden; the EU delegation, and GAVI the Vaccine Alliance, and delivered by a Fund Manager consortium led by Crown Agents and supported by Montrose, International Procurement Agency, as well as a number of NGO implementing partners.