Highlights
• The number of malaria cases continued to rise in the Greater Bahr el Ghazal region and Unity state. To scale up the malaria response in Bentiu Protection of Civilian (PoC) site, UNICEF, MSF-Holland and WHO are undertaking a campaign of presumptive treatment at household level of children under 5 with fever. An estimated 35,000 children under 5 will be screened and children with fever will be treated immediately.
• The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology with support from UNICEF and other education sector partners launched the first-ever comprehensive national education curriculum for South Sudan. The new South Sudan Curriculum is competency-based and integrates life skills and peace education, gender, human rights and environmental awareness.
The new National Education Curriculum was launched by the Vice President of South Sudan, and the Minister for Education, Science and Technology.
• UNICEF and WFP launched the second year of their joint nutrition response plan. Malnutrition in South Sudan is a chronic problem as well as an acute emergency. Rates of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) are alarmingly high – well above the emergency threshold of 15 per cent in most parts of the country – especially in the Greater Upper Nile States, Warrap and Northern Bahr el Ghazal. A total of 84,227 children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) have been admitted to UNICEF supported nutrition programmes between January and July 2015.