I was fairly selfish yesterday…. My mother sent me to the doctor to receive my meningococcal injection, as I missed the injection day at school. I, being a self confessed needle hater…well didn't I moan… 'I don't need it, I'm not going to go, this isn't fair…'



Once I got home that night, with a sore arm, I looked back at those comments with shame. Most nights before logging on to The Blender, I check out Reuters Alertnet, to read about the things that aren't usually captured in my six o'clock commercial news. I've had a long time passion and motivation to inform my peers, friends and community about the forgotten war and conflict, which is still present in Sudan.



For those of you who don't know, let me provide some background…. Sudan is one of the largest countries in Africa, and the country has been at war for the past fifty years. Throughout the past fifty years, these have been broken down in to three main conflicts. A civil war between the north and south that lasted for twenty-one years which ended in 2005, an extreme humanitarian crises throughout Western Darfur which has seen two hundred thousand die, and two point five million become displaced by fighting since 2003, and continual confrontation in eastern Sudan which has strong presence of insurgents whom are set to challenge the government for a bid of the share of the country's power and natural resources. Sudan has a population of 35.5 million, a life expectancy at birth of 57 years, an adult literacy rate of 59 percent. Sudan's under five mortality rate per 1,000 lives births stands at 91, and the country has 6 million internally displaced persons. (Taken from the United Nations Human Development Report, 2005).



So why did I feel selfish?? When logging on to Reuters, I read the following article; Meningitis epidemic confirmed in southern Sudan-WHO. The article talks of an epidemic having broken out in south Sudan, with sixteen deaths among two hundred and thirty suspected cases since September.



When I told a friend about this, she said its only sixteen deaths, haylz? And I'm sure that's a view shared by many… my response is that it is a death of daughter, a son, a grandchild, a cousin, a niece a nephew. We see the statistics, but do we think of that persons story, their potential, right to life or effect on their loved ones.



231 cases. 16 deaths. With the potential to spread. On top of the countries continuing conflict is what I find alarming. The outbreak is in Greater Yei Country, and the World Health Organisation is conducting an investigation and they hope to create a vaccination programme targeting three hundred thousand. But is this enough? And I know this happens in many countries all around the world but what can we do to help?



When asking that question, I think the main answer is we can advocate. We can learn about the injustices in Sudan, we can request our democratically elected politicians to be global citizens and do something about it!



In Australian media, we hear a lot about waiting lists, nurse shortages, and in general how our health system is failing citizens. I do agree, that something needs to be done… but with fixing the system I also believe we need to be grateful for what we've got. Reading the article the night after receiving my injection certainly reminded me despite the pain, the inconvenience and the certainty that I will faint… that I am in a country and a position to advocate for those who don't have a voice… and that despite the inefficiencies in my countries systems, at least there is a system there…