Resolutions of the 4th Annual Scientific Conference of the Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians of South Sudan (AGOSS)

1. Resolution on Safe Motherhood and Reduction of Maternal Mortality

South Sudan’s current Maternal Mortality Rate stands at 692/100,000 live births. Low health funding, poor health infrastructure, poor referral system, bleeding after birth (60%), unsafe abortion (38%) and leadership issues ,among others, were outlined to be the causes.

AGOSS recommends:

1. Strengthening surveillance and reporting of maternal deaths through the national Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) system.
2. Training healthcare workers on early recognition and timely referral of obstetric emergencies.
3. Strengthen the Boma Health Initiative to support timely referral from the community to health facilities, and community maternal health awareness campaigns. 
4. Promoting respectful maternity care (RMC) practices in all health facilities.
5. Calling on the national government to prioritize funding for health in South Sudan, by increasing the health budget to 15% per the Abuja Health declaration.
6. Improving abortion care services, including the reform of laws
7. Calling on the Council of Ministers and the Transitional National Legislative Assembly to enact the following bills:

o Midwives and Nurses Council Bill

o Allied Health Professional Bill

2. Resolution on the Burden of Infertility in South Sudan

Male infertility cases are on the rise in South Sudan. Data from sperm analysis in Juba indicates that 84% of semen samples from approximately 2,287 cases were found to be abnormal. This highlights the growing concern of male infertility as a public health issue in South Sudan.

The conference recommends:

1. The establishment of fertility services in the main public health facilities across South Sudan, including Juba Teaching Hospital (JTH), Wau Teaching Hospital (WTH), Kiir Mayardit (KWH), and Malakal Teaching Hospital (MTH).

3. Resolution on Menopause Awareness

The conference observed that menopause is among the neglected health concerns in South Sudan.

The conference recommends:

1. To raise awareness of menopausal-related problems among communities.
2. Health care providers, especially junior medical doctors, are advised to consider menopause as one of the differential diagnoses for cases that present with menopausal-like symptoms.

4. Resolution on Reproductive Health, Family Planning and Adolescent Health

The conference acknowledges that Family Planning is a human and a woman’s basic right. Despite that, men still have a controlling and determinant role in their wives’ use of family planning in South Sudan.

AGOSS resolves to:

1. Recommend for unconditionally empowering women to voluntary access to family planning services.
2. Enhance public awareness on the importance of voluntary family planning services.
3. Advocate for adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services across the country.
4. Work with partners to reduce teenage pregnancy and its complications.

5. Resolution on the Fistula Burden

Obstetric fistula cases are on the rise in South Sudan, caused by high home deliveries (80%), lack of skilled birth attendance, and high rates of teenage pregnancy. 

The conference:

1. Calls for action to increase awareness on the importance of facility deliveries, training fistula surgeons, and treatment and rehabilitation services.  

6. Resolution on Partnerships and Stakeholder Collaboration

AGOSS commits to:

1. Strengthen partnerships with the Ministry of Health, UN agencies, NGOs, universities, and other professional bodies.
2. Engage the private sector to support scientific innovation, capacity building, and reproductive health interventions.
3. Formalize Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with key partners to sustain long-term collaborations.

7. Resolution on Gender, Youth Empowerment, and Women’s Health Leadership

The conference noticed alarming data affecting gender and youth, including child marriage (52%), and adolescent births (158 per 1,000 adolescents). South Sudan is the second country with high gender-based violence (GBV) cases in the region. The GBV Bill is still pending and has not been enacted.

The conference resolves to:

1. Call upon the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Council of Ministers, and the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly to enact the GBV bill 
2. Empower women to have the right to access and decide on their health, including the right to consent for surgical operations such as life-saving caesarean section(C/S) and access to contraceptives.
3. Create a platform for youth engagement in scientific research and community mobilization on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) issues.
4. Work with the Office of the Vice President in charge of the Gender and Youth Cluster to advance the national gender agenda.

8. Resolution on Capacity Building and Postgraduate Medical Education

AGOSS commits to:

1. Continue supporting the establishment and strengthening of obstetrics and gynecology postgraduate programmes in the country in collaboration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of South Sudan (CPS), the University of Juba, the East Central and Southern Africa College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ECSACOG), and other institutions that are willing to provide training.

9. Resolution on Research, Data Quality, and Scientific Advancement

The conference resolves to:

1. Increase the days for the annual scientific conference from two to three days.
2. Promote high-quality clinical and public health research among its members.
3. Establish an annual AGOSS Research Grant to support young scientists and postgraduate trainees.
4. Publish conference abstracts and proceedings to enhance local scientific visibility.

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