By Karl Hofmann, President & CEO, Population Services International
PSI is extremely sad to report the untimely death of our Country Representative in South Sudan, Hildah Mbaya. Hildah passed away in Nairobi last Friday, September 11, after a brief illness. Her teammates in Juba and all of us at PSI are shocked at this terrible news.
On Monday, September 14, PSI’s leadership and our South Sudan team joined Hildah’s family and friends at a memorial service. It was there the team in Juba expressed that they are more determined than ever to carry on her work.
Hildah joined PSI in 2015 as a Warehouse and Logistics Technical Advisor to PSI South Sudan. In 2019, she was named Country Representative. Hildah brought calm strength to our programs, allowing us to continue to serve our consumers in impressive ways even most recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just through July of this year, PSI South Sudan had distributed almost 1 million Long-lasting Insecticide-treated nets (LLINs), almost 1 million doses of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACTs) and averted nearly 1 million daily-adjusted life years (DALYs) from malaria. This is remarkable performance in a tough operating environment, with COVID pressures added on top.
Like her colleagues at PSI both in South Sudan and at the global headquarters, the Global Fund, PSI’s main donor in the country, valued Hildah’s technical knowledge and skills, and considered her an expert in our field. Our stakeholders’ confidence in Hildah helped to burnish and protect our programs in South Sudan.