In mid-July, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) South Sudan Communication Specialist Kate Donovan visited the Malakal Protection-of-Civilian site with a group of journalists. They were there to chronicle the trials of people struggling to survive in the nearly unimaginable squalor inside the confines of the United Nations (UN) compound, where they had come seeking protection from the fighting that included targeting of civilians. At least 80 babies are born every month in the camp, some in their tents, and some in clinics. It was a hot Sunday afternoon, and eerily quiet when Kate visited the clinic with a photographer, hoping to find a good story. But South Sudan’s good stories are often tempered by inconvenient details – the disruption resulting from the civil conflict goes deep.
Anjelina James, 32, gazed at her husband’s final gift quietly sleeping on her lap. Her seventh child, a healthy baby girl, had been born 12 hours before in a birthing clinic inside the Malakal protection of civilian site. “I am glad the baby is here, and I am also sad,” she said.
Her husband and her father died in the fighting that tore through the country in January of this year. Anjelina, her six children and her mother had to flee Malakal town to the safety of the UN compound. Her house was burned down.
Anjelina’s pregnancy progressed in the wretched conditions inside the UN compound. With a population of more than 17 000 people, at least half of them children under 18, space is at a premium, as much of the land is uninhabitable swamp – during the rainy season, the choice to sleep standing up or drown is stark. Walking even short distances means wading. Education is informal, crowded and taught by fellow residents who are not paid.
Water for cooking and drinking (after boiling), at least, is trucked in to water points. Funding for the water comes from the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), who also support the health care centres, including the one housing Anjelina and her baby.
The birthing centre is a relative island of peace, tranquility and cleanliness.
Two full time, highly experienced birth attendants – also residents of the camp – exchange shifts, and other staff are on hand for translation and administrative work. Just steps away is another clinic, and a doctor is in the vicinity.
The birthing equipment, medicines, blankets and critically, the registration books that note the child’s birth are all supported by UNICEF. Mothers receive information about breastfeeding and other good practices and go home with a post-birthing pack supplied by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
From the clinic's opening in February until September, 188 mothers have given birth; all the mothers have survived, whilst only one newborn was a still birth – the result of a bad tumble the mother took late in her pregnancy.
Giving birth and being a baby in South Sudan can be a dangerous affair, with complications that would easily be treated in a regular setting turning deadly and babies expiring due to simple lack of knowledge.
Anjelina and her youngest hopped that hurdle. And more will follow.
Later that day, Anjelina took her new baby home to her excited brothers and sisters, who will give their little sister her new name. One day, hopefully soon, Anjelina and her family will walk through the gates of the UN compound and begin their lives as free citizens again – a right, not a gift.
ECHO, one of UNICEF's donors, has provided over €110 million in humanitarian aid this year to address the growing needs of this man-made crisis.