Health Facilities Mapping in South Sudan- Lessons Learned

In 2011, South Sudan gained independence and instantly reported some of the worst health indicators in the world. The weak health system in South Sudan has garnered attention and interest of the international community, but unfortunately at that time there was limited data and understanding of the current situation of health service delivery. In 2012, Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) began piloting a Health Facilities Mapping Project in three counties of Western Equatoria State (WES): Yambio, Nzara, and Ezo. CMMB used the data to gain understanding of the status of health service delivery at government health facilities and to determine if location affects your health and well-being. Through this project, the dire circumstances of the government health system and facilities were realized. This presentation will describe CMMB’s approach to gathering baseline information on the health system in WES, South Sudan through GIS mapping of government health facilities. The project’s design and implementation process will be discussed as a skill building exercise in order to highlight the strengths, limitations, and lessons learned. The map created from the data gathered during CMMB’s Health Facilities Mapping Project will be presented as a way to demonstrate the use of mapping in this context and that poor health systems are linked to poor health indicators. Recommendations will be highlighted throughout the presentation on how to successfully design and implement a mapping project in a low resource setting and at low cost including recommendations regarding tool selection, design, and adaptation and mapping software selection.