MIgrant Health Assessment in South Sudan

This situational assessment of migrant health in South Sudan has been conducted for IOM with the support of the Partnership on Health and Mobility in East and Southern Africa (PHAMESA) and sponsored by Sida and Norad. It aims to address the lack of consolidated data on the particular health challenges faced by migrants, notably returnees, IDPs, migrant female sex workers, truck drivers, and migrant workers in South Sudan. The overarching goal of the South Sudanese Health Sector Development Plan 2012-2016 is to increase the utilisation and quality of health services, scale up health promotion and protection interventions, and strengthen institutional effectiveness, efficiency and equity (Republic of South Sudan, 2012). In turn, the Migration Health Division within IOM aims to improve the overall standards of physical, mental, and social well-being of migrants by responding to their health needs throughout all phases of the migration process, while also responding to the public health needs of host communities within a human rights based approach to health. This assessment therefore seeks to understand the current health situation of specific migrant populations in South Sudan in order to contribute strategic information tothe Ministry of Health for improved mainstreaming of migration health concerns into government policies and practice. Specific objectives of this assessment are to identify some of the prominent spaces of vulnerability for migrants in South Sudan and outline the mobility patterns of populations associated with such spaces. It also seeks to identify the main health concerns in the key vulnerability spaces and to understand broadly the experiences of migrants in accessing health services in South Sudan, including specific challenges or enabling factors.