Protecting Vulnerable Populations from Epidemic-Prone Vector-Borne Diseases in Renk and Ulang Counties The proposed programme aims to provide protection from malaria and other vector-borne diseases (VBDs) as well as COVID-19 to highly vulnerable populations in Renk and Ulang (Upper Nile State). 

Malaria has been dominating the health landscape in South Sudan for a long time, with other VBDs such as Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) also contributing to a significant disease burden among South Sudanese communities. It is therefore important to control and prevent these diseases in order to positively impact morbidity and mortality in South Sudan. 

In line with the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) Strategic Objective 1 of “Reducing morbidity and mortality, as well as suffering from protection threats and incidents, of the most vulnerable populations in severity levels 3 and 4.” and the Health Cluster objective of “Reducing excess morbidity and mortality of epidemic-prone diseases and health insecurities”, The MENTOR Initiative proposes a programme under the overarching framework of an Integrated Vector Management (IVM) approach, which stands on pillars of disease control, prevention activities and capacity building. To achieve this, MENTOR will focus on capacity building and preventing disease-transmitting vectors from infecting people as well as multiplying and entering the VBD transmission cycle, which causes a great deal of morbidity and mortality, particularly in vulnerable populations.

For development of this proposal, MENTOR staff travelled to Renk to carry out a needs assessment in March 2020 and held meetings with REACH, World Vision and government authorities. MENTOR liaised with MSF Spain in Ulang, which provide most of the health care in the county. MSF Spain willingly provided a lot of information about the situation in Ulang and would welcome MENTOR's support.

Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS), larviciding, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaigns, health education sessions for community members as well as technical training programmes for healthcare staff on VBD diagnosis and case management will be employed as tools to disrupt disease transmission and to improve health outcomes. 

During IRS, a safe insecticide is applied to the inner walls of houses and shelters, which kills mosquitoes upon landing on sprayed surfaces. Larviciding for mosquitoes and flies target larvae in their early development and prevent them from maturing into adult insects, with the ability to transmit disease. IEC campaigns and health education sessions educate people on how to recognize, and act on, the signs and symptoms of VBDs and prevention of new infections. Information on the impact of water and sanitation on disease transmission, as well as, malnutrition and associated disease severity is also communicated. As a last measure, health facilities in target locations will be supported by offering comprehensive training programmes on malaria and other VBDs for nursing and medical staff to improve the quality of health service delivery. 


The proposed programme will last for 9 months and ultimately aims to achieve a significant reduction in malaria cases (and instances of other VBDs, such as VL) over this period of time. Capacity building within the community and the healthcare system is also a priority in order to prevent illness whilst improving health service delivery at the same time.