Infant feeding methods among HIV-positive mothers in Yei County, South Sudan

Introduction: This study describes the infant feeding methods chosen by HIV-positive mothers in Yei County, South Sudan and the factors that influenced their choice.Methods: This cross-sectional study used quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data from a sample of HIV positive mothers from Yei Hospital Mother and Child Health (MCH) section, and St Bakhita Primary Health Care Centre.Results: The results showed that the mothers’ levels of correct knowledge about HIV transmission to infants, and infant feeding guidelines to prevent transmission were high. Most mothers chose exclusive breastfeeding.Conclusion: The factors which were significantly associated with the choice of infant feeding methods included: marital status, level of education, income, knowledge about prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, cultural beliefs, social stigma and cost of infant feeding method.Keywords: HIV/AIDS, prevention-of-mother-to-child transmission, infant feeding, South Suda

Causes of road traffic accidents in Juba

Introduction: Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a major cause of death and disability in South Sudan. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether violation of traffic rules is the main cause of RTAs.Method: A cross sectional study design was used with quantitative data covering January – December 2014. The main objective of the research was to understand the epidemiology of RTAs in order to develop preventive measures. A total of 1,725 cases from road RTAs data were extracted from the directorate of traffic police Central Equatoria state Juba and Juba teaching hospital.Results: Most (99.5%) of the RTA drivers were not under the influence of alcohol. Most accidents were caused by male drivers (99%). The highest number of RTAs took place in August (11%). Drivers of private vehicles caused most accidents (37%). Most drivers (46%) were aged 20-30 years. RTAs occurred most often on city roads (89.83%). Conclusion: This leads us to conclude that a comprehensive safety system is needed that are premised on the idea of community-based awareness of traffic rules and safety regulations. Resources are limited so there is a need to harness local resources including the local community. More efforts are needed to improve road safety education among the youth/ integrate safety into road design.Key Words: Road traffic accidents, private vehicles, alcoho

Prevalence and outcome of malaria among hospitalized children in Al Sabah Children Hospital, South Sudan

Background: Malaria remains a public health concern and the leading cause of mortality in children aged under five years in South Sudan. Understanding the burden of malaria in children may assist in developing a strategy for mitigating and eliminating malaria. This would contribute to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. We planned to determine the prevalence and outcome of malaria among hospitalized children in Al Sabah Children Hospital, South Sudan.Methods: We carried out a retrospective analysis of hospitalized children in Al Sabah Children Hospital between January to June 2020. The data for this study were analysed using Stata version 11 to calculate the prevalence and outcome of malaria among these children during the study period.Results: A total 781 children were recruited, of whom 777 contributed to the analysis (the others were excluded because of missing data). Overall prevalence of malaria was 78% among hospitalized children. Severe malaria alone affected 28%, while 50% had severe malaria in combination with other diseases. The highest death rate was amongst children from Munuki Block (11%, p= 0.001). Severe malaria alone and in combination was the diagnosis for 58% of the children who died. Severe malaria alone contributed to 14% of deaths.Conclusion: Malaria remains the number one cause of mortality in hospitalized children in this paediatric hospital. It predominantly affects young children, who are also at the highest risk of dying. Measures envisaged to protect children during their first five years of life are likely to have the greatest impact. Key words: malaria, children, Al Sabah Children Hospital, South Suda

Infant feeding methods among HIV-positive mothers in Yei County, South Sudan

Introduction: This study describes the infant feeding methods chosen by HIV-positive mothers in Yei County, South Sudan and the factors that influenced their choice. Methods: This cross-sectional study used quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data from a sample of HIV positive mothers from Yei Hospital Mother and Child Health (MCH) section, and St Bakhita Primary Health Care Centre. Results: The results showed that the mothers’ levels of correct knowledge about HIV transmission to infants, and infant feeding guidelines to prevent transmission were high. Most mothers chose exclusive breastfeeding. Conclusions: The factors which were significantly associated with the choice of infant feeding methods included: marital status, level of education, income, knowledge about prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, cultural beliefs, social stigma and cost of infant feeding method

Eye diseases in Akon Payam, South Sudan

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment among patients in Akon payam, Warrap State, South Sudan. Methods and materials: This was a cross-sectional study of 862 patients conducted at Akon in the period 18 – 31 September 2015. The Snellen E chart was used to measure visual acuity, and all patients had a basic eye examination. Their vision status was categorized according to the World Health Organization classification. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 22(IBM). Results: The age range of the study population was 3 - 86 years; 81.9% were aged 41-80 years. 50.8% were males and 49.2% were females. There were 1483 bilaterally blind eyes giving a prevalence of blindness of 86% (95% CI: 3.2497-3.3531) with prevalence of visual impairment of 3.9 %( 95% CI: 2.5001-3.0944. Cataract (59.7%) was the commonest eye disease, followed by glaucoma (15.1%), corneal dystrophy (9.3%), allergic conjunctivitis (5.5%), corneal scar (1.9%), refractive errors(1.8%) and others(6.7%). Among those who are blind cataract (66%) was the major agent with females affected more than males .It was followed by glaucoma (16.7%), corneal dystrophy (10%), corneal scar(1.8%) and the rest of agents(5.4%). The main age group affected by blindness was the 41- 80 years age group (87%) and the least was below 20 years (1.1%). There was a strong association between age and sex with the causes of blindness. Conclusion: There was equal sex preponderance with more blindness in those aged 41 years or above. Cataract and glaucoma still remained major cause of blindness in this payam. More effort is needed by the government to reduce the burden of these diseases

Causes of road traffic accidents in Juba

Introduction: Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a major cause of death and disability in South Sudan. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether violation of traffic rules is the main cause of RTAs. Method: A cross sectional study design was used with quantitative data covering January – December 2014. The main objective of the research was to understand the epidemiology of RTAs in order to develop preventive measures. A total of 1725cases from road RTAs data were extracted from the directorate of traffic police Central Equatoria state Juba and Juba teaching hospital. Results: Most (99.5%) of the RTA drivers were not under the influence of alcohol. Most accidents were caused by male drivers (99%). The highest number of RTAs took place in August (11%). Drivers of private vehicles caused most accidents (37%). Most drivers (46%) were aged 20-30 years. RTAs occurred most often on city roads (89.83%). Conclusion: This leads us to conclude that a comprehensive safety system is needed that are premised on the idea of community-based awareness of traffic rules and safety regulations. Resources are limited so there is a need to harness local resources including the local community. More efforts are needed to improve road safety education among the youth/integrate safety into road design

Prevalence and outcome of malaria among hospitalized children in Al Sabah Children Hospital, South Sudan

Background: Malaria remains a public health concern and the leading cause of mortality in children aged under five years in South Sudan. Understanding the burden of malaria in children may assist in developing a strategy for mitigating and eliminating malaria. This would contribute to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. We planned to determine the prevalence and outcome of malaria among hospitalized children in Al Sabah Children Hospital, South Sudan. Methods: We carried out a retrospective analysis of hospitalized children in Al Sabah Children Hospital between January to June 2020. The data for this study were analysed using Stata version 11 to calculate the prevalence and outcome of malaria among these children during the study period. Results: A total 781 children were recruited, of whom 777 contributed to the analysis (the others were excluded because of missing data). Overall prevalence of malaria was 78% among hospitalized children. Severe malaria alone affected 28%, while 50% had severe malaria in combination with other diseases. The highest death rate was amongst children from Munuki Block (11%, p= 0.001). Severe malaria alone and in combination was the diagnosis for 58% of the children who died. Severe malaria alone contributed to 14% of deaths. Conclusion: Malaria remains the number one cause of mortality in hospitalized children in this paediatric hospital. It predominantly affects young children, who are also at the highest risk of dying. Measures envisaged to protect children during their first five years of life are likely to have the greatest impact