Fifty (50) stakeholders across five counties of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state convened in Aweil town for SBC Project close-out review and evaluation meeting, the participants includes the state Ministry of Health, UNICEF, Relief and rehabilitation commission (RRC), ministry of Education, MGCSW, Cooperative and Rural Development, Members of Parliament, county authorities, County Health, Nutrition, WASH and Education departments, women unions, Youths, religious leaders, People with disabilities (PWDs), and Paramount Chiefs to review SBC key achievements, lessons learned, existing gaps and the ways forward on sustaining risk community and community engagement in Northern Bahr El Ghazal State.
During the meeting, the State Minister of Health, Hon. Riiny Riiny Lual, commended WECSS for reaching hard-to-reach areas and vulnerable communities with life-saving health information and services. He highlighted increase in maternal health and new born, notably an increase in deliveries at health facilities under the care of trained midwives and nurses, as well an increase on immunization coverage among children under five compare to the previous.
Praising WECSS for strengthening social behavioral change awareness and promoting heathy behavior and peaceful coexistence between host communities and refugees displaced from Sudan, the Minister pledged his ministry contribution to UNICEF South Sudan as a goodwill gesture to support the continued presence of WECSS in the state. He also called on Paramount Chiefs and county authorities to make similar contributions to enable WECSS to sustain its community engagement across Northern Bahr El Ghazal and border communities as refugees continue to come to Northern Bahr El Ghazal state.
