What is the most serious issue in this village?

When I think of Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal state in South Sudan, I think of a relatively peaceful, well off place, which is impressive considering that this state has absorbed large numbers of returnees from Khartoum and borders southern Darfur. But today I read a report that really challenged my idea of what a “good” state in South Sudan looks like. This report, “Promoting the Peace: Ensuring conflict-sensitive development in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State,” published by the Danish Refugee Council and Danish Demining Group, opened my eyes to the extreme poverty and deprivation that even peaceful places in South Sudan suffer. 

One of the questions the researchers asked was, “What is the most serious issue in this village?” I was humbled and disturbed to see the results. 

For 57% of respondents, getting enough food and clean water are the biggest problems they face. Wow. 

In third place is “health facilities,” which is amazing considering that in this state one woman dies from every fifty pregnancies (the statistic is even worse elsewhere, but could be drastically improved with access to even the most basic health care or good hygiene practices). Women here have many children and even more pregnancies, so one death for every fifty pregnancies makes bearing children the equivalent of playing Russian roulette. In fourth place is education, a stunningly low ranking for a state where only 5.7% of kids go to primary school. Only in a place where food and water are your #1 and #2 problems can these two issues be relegated to third and fourth place.  

I like the bluntness of this question and how it helps me to see my own needs with the proper perspective. If I were to ask myself, “What is the most serious issue in my village?” while looking around my nice clean room, filled with healthy food (much of it imported) and bottled water, while knowing I could get medvac-ed any day for a toothache, while remembering that my education would help me get a job outside this country if I so chose… Well, I guess I would have to say that the most serious issue in my village is that, really, I don’t care enough about the issues in anyone else’s.

-Stephanie

Graph is courtesy of the "Promoting the Peace" Report by the Danish Refugee Council and the Danish Demining Group