Global charity reunites 7,000 children with families in South Sudan

Global charity 'Save the Children' and its partners have said that they have reunited a record 7,000 children with their families since 2017, enabling them to rebuild their lives after being separated by conflict.

The charity said on Wednesday, 18 October, in a statement that it has been using an open-source software platform known as the Child Protection Information Management System Plus (CPIMS+) to reunite children with their families in the country for nine years, Xinhua news agency reported.

Through the use of this software, which includes both a mobile app and offline capabilities, 'Save the Children' staff members recently managed to reunite Simon, 13, with his adult brother Samuel after three months of separation from family members, bringing the total number of child reunifications the organisation has facilitated in South Sudan since 2017 to 7,000.

According to the CPIMS+ database, nearly 20,000 unaccompanied, separated or missing children have been registered across South Sudan in the past nine years due to conflict within the country and from neighbouring Sudan.

"Separated and unaccompanied children are more susceptible to violence, abuse and exploitation, which makes returning them to their parents an urgent priority," the charity added.