JUBA, South Sudan. As insecurity intensifies along the border between Sudan and South Sudan, Medair continues to bring relief to vulnerable families in Upper Nile state.

In Renk county, Upper Nile state, impoverished communities have been struggling to cope with an influx of 20,000 returnees from Sudan who have been living in temporary camps on the outskirts of their villages. Meanwhile, families living in these camps have little food, health care, or access to water or sanitation.

Asunta Awok vividly recalls fleeing war-torn Southern Sudan when she was only 20 years old. She ran for three days straight and didn't sleep. For the past 25 years, she has lived in Khartoum in the north. In that time, she married, had four children, and later buried her husband. Now 45, she has returned home with her children, eager to build a new life in what is poised to become the world's newest country.

Medair

Sudan (Northern States) - In South Kordofan, Medair's safe motherhood programme is leading to life-saving care for vulnerable mothers throughout the region.

For a woman who is only 30 years of age, midwife Asha Mohamad Ali has delivered a surprising number of children in her lifetime.

"I might have delivered about 3,000 babies," said Asha, who works out of the village of Abu Likri. "I once did 13 in a single week!"

Back in 1992, Asha attended a one-and-a-half year midwife training organised by the government in Kadugli. She has been

November 2009:

A woman carried her three-year-old stepdaughter Nyanchyan for an hour through the marshes to reach a health camp in Keew. The little girl was severely underweight and had been running a high fever for weeks, but had become pale and had a rash and an enlarged spleen. All symptoms suggested that Nyanchyan had contracted kala azar.

The disease kala azar attacks a person's internal organs and can be fatal within months if untreated-even sooner

March 2008:

"I'd love to become a doctor," said Ahoch Ayong Athon, already thinking about his long- term aspirations as he prepared to embark on a Medair-sponsored training programme for community health workers (CHWs).

"I expect to learn more about health, like how to make a diagnosis of a patient, how to help with prescribing drugs, and when to refer patients to medical assistants. I think I can

On a hot night in May, Aziza showed up at Medair's antenatal care (ANC) centre in Sisi, a displaced-persons camp 40 kilometres from the state capital, El Geneina, in West Darfur. She had been in labour at home for nine hours, under the care of a traditional birth attendant (TBA). The midwife on the night shift, Nour, immediately knew that this young mother was in danger.

In February 2009, a 14-year-old girl named Nyaruach became the first patient to successfully complete tuberculosis treatment in Medair's new TB clinic in Melut.

Damaris Kunz, Medair's TB Manager, holds a photo of the girl taken in early 2008, before the onset of her symptoms. "Nyaruach was a normal young girl filled with fun and joy," she says. "Then, with the tuberculosis, came the deformation of her spine,

John was the first arrival to the clinic on the day Medair returned to Maban County. The young boy was carried in by his mother, bundled up in blankets. At first glance, I didn't think he was alive; the boy looked like a skeleton. He was severely wasted from diarrhoea and dehydration. I didn't recognise him at all, but as I talked to his mother I realised I had met this child before.

Six weeks previously, when we were in

"Please, can you please come see my son?" pleads the man, out-of-breath, as he rushes toward Medair's health staff.

The health team is just packing up their car after a long, hot day in Paloich. They quickly ask the man where his house is, and whether he can bring his son to them. The man does not even pause to answer. He turns and runs.

Moments later, the man returns with his