Merlin, the international medical relief agency, is responding to the chronic health needs in Southern Sudan, where years of repeated droughts and civil war have had devastating effects on much of the population and has resulted in severely limited access to health care.
In Kapoeta county, which has a population of 260,000 and no referral hospital, Merlin is constructing a health centre and upgrading a training centre for community, maternal and child health workers. The programme involves working alongside a local NGO to extend and improve the quality of health services in the area, focusing in particular on women and children's health.

Merlin is also working in Magwi county, (population 260,000) in Eastern Equatoria near the northern Ugandan border. Magwi's infrastructure has been destroyed by the war and thousands of displaced people, whose livelihoods have been shattered, are facing the threat of disease. The population is also affected by escalating insecurity in Northern Uganda. Merlin is supporting a hospital in Nimule and is planning to conduct an outreach programme that will deliver primary health care services to underserved communities in Magwi County.