On 12 July 2014, a new hospital Kiir Mayardit Women’s Hospital was officially opened in Rumbek, Lakes State by his Excellency Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan as part of the Government initiative to improve maternal health services in the country.

The Kiir Mayardit Women’s Hospital, the first of its kind in South Sudan, was constructed at the cost of 6 million USD. It was constructed with the support of the Chinese government and will provide medical services to women, particularly those with pregnancy related complications such as fistula. The hospital has a 60 bed capacity, delivery rooms, theatres, a waiting home, laboratories, diagnostic equipment, offices and a mortuary.

To strengthen service provision in the hospital, WHO has recruited and deployed two international technical officers, a surgeon and an anesthetist using funding from the African Public Health Emergency Fund of the WHO Regional office for Africa. The deployed staff will support with capacity building by on job training of the national medical staff of the hospital.

Opening the hospital, President Salva Kiir urged all women in Rumbek and South Sudan to make use of the hospital.

‘‘When we came here to request for land people were doubtful that this hospital would be constructed. Here it is today, a state of the art hospital that will help contribute to the reduction of maternal mortality rates in this country, which are among the highest in the world’’, said President Salva Kiir.

The Minister of Health, Dr Riek Gai Kok, thanked the Chinese government for the construction of the hospital with minimal resources. He also thanked WHO and UNFPA for their leadership in health and reproductive health respectively, and ensuring that work plans are geared towards reducing maternal mortality rates in South Sudan. He expressed his gratitude to WHO for deploying a surgeon and an anesthetist in Rumbek maternity hospital.

‘‘WHO is part of the Ministry of Health and has provided tremendous support to the Ministry of Health over the past years, including the current emergency crisis response in the country as well as the cholera outbreak which is affecting several states’’, said Dr Riek.

The opening ceremony was attended by among others, Ambassadors of Turkey, China and Sudan, National Government Ministers from the National and State levels in South Sudan, Ministry of health officials, the Country Representative of UNFPA in South Sudan and thousands of people from Lakes State.

1.    Hon Minister of Health Dr Riek Gai Kok, Dr Abdi Mohamed and Dr Makur Kariom, Undersecretary Ministry of Health at the Rumbek Maternity Hospital entrance 
2.    President Salva Kiir officially opening the Salva Kiir Mayardit Women’s Hospital in Rumbek
3.    Dr Abdi Mohammed, WHO Representative and Dr Barnabas, UNFPA Representative greet the President at the newly opened hospital in Rumbek city

Photo credits: WHO/ P. Ajello