Keywords: Human Resources for Health, Health System, Post Conflict Country, Administration Development

Gaining independence 2011, the Republic of South Sudan is a new country. Having been deeply impacted by more than 40 years of civil war, basic human needs such as health care, education, and water supply are at the world’s lowest levels. For four years, we provided assistance in organizational capacity development for the South Sudan Ministry of Health and ten State Ministries of Health in developing human resources for health, which are essential to strengthening health care services and systems.

Our primary activities were the formulation of policies and strategies for developing health human resources; the formulation of annual action plans and improving monitoring capacity; the development and operation of the Human Resources Information System (HRIS); and the improvement of capacity for managing training programs through the development and training of trainers in midwife services. Support was also offered to Sector Working Groups for the management of health human recourses as well as HRIS while proactively coordinating with partners such as WHO, UNFPA, and the World Bank. We also built the first school in the country for training registered nurses and midwives, as well as created an office for the Ministry of Health. This was rated highly by their government as assistance that swiftly and accurately responded to their needs. Success was achieved through the use of our strength in information gathering, communication, perseverance, quick on-site decisionmaking, and encouraging sustainability.