On the morning of September 30^th, IRC (International Rescue Committee) the principal provider of primary health care in the POC camp in Bor put out an urgent call to WHO-Juba. The UMMISS level- 2 hospital on the base had received a pregnant woman in labor with profuse vaginal bleeding.  The doctors determined the woman needed an emergency C-section but they did not have an obstetrician or surgical capacity for that level of care.  They requested urgent medevac to Juba and were in dialog with International Medical Corps about surgery in their operating theatre in the UN House outside of Juba.  The woman was a Nuer and would not only need to be transported under  escort from the UN base to the air strip in Bor, but upon landing in Juba would require another UN protected transport to take her across town to the UN House.  The time involved even to get a helicopter in the air from Juba would take several hours.  All this, while Bor State Hospital with 8 attending physicians and a renovated operating suite and maternity was 10 minutes down the road.

The conflict in Bor, largely between Dinkas and Nuers is a political one and does not transcend humanitarian care.  Indeed, when UN transport was not readily available, WHO contacted IMA requesting a way forward.  The Medical Director at Bor State Hospital was apprised and without hesitation requested that the patient be brought to Bor State Hospital while Dr Mabior, attending physician in the newly renovated Maternity Unit,  assembled his surgical team.  They received a message back that the baby had died in-utero, the woman now critical was being transfused, and ground transport was underway.   The UN promptly transferred the patient down the road to Bor State Hospital where she was ushered into the operating theatre.   The woman, in shock from loss of blood, was found to have a placenta previa and underwent an emergency C-section.   The surgery was successful and the mother’s life was saved.  The following day, with Dr Mabior’s concurrence, the woman was transferred back to the UNMISS level 2 hospital at the UNMISS camp in stable and good condition.

An NGO Site Manager for the POC base had this to say the following day. “This morning the young lady is alert and doing well.  I just want to highlight that the doctors in Bor hospital were very cooperative and very professional. It was wonderful and humbling to see Dinka surgeons perform such skilled and careful surgery on a young lady from the PoC, especially given the lack of trust the IDPs have in Bor hospital. I think it is a very positive development, and could open the way for a new MoU between the hospital and the Health Cluster.   The Medical Director (DR Moses) assured (us) that the IDPs are welcome at any time, that the hospital is strictly neutral, and does not tolerate violence”.

The IMA supported referral hospital in Bor…saving lives and building bridges for Peace... in Jonglei State!