South Sudan steps up its response to coronavirus pandemic

AS THE coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19)  spreads rapidly across Africa, South Sudan’s  Ministry of Health has partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an effort to halt its transmission in the country. 

South Sudan confirmed its first COVID-19 case on April 5. 

Since then four cases of COVID-19 have been reported. 

However the country continues to face a huge burden of communicable disease outbreaks. 

WHO, the CDC and other partner organisations have been supporting the Ministry of Health to enhance emergency preparedness and response interventions in line with the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) and WHO Incident Management System.

As part of the support, WHO constructed  the Public Health Emergency Operation Center, the first of its kind in South Sudan and a major laboratory called Dr John Garang multi-purpose Infectious Disease Unit.

Strengthened capacity

It  strengthened the capacity of the laboratory to test for infectious diseases such as measles, Ebola and COVID-19 among others.  

In addition, the Ministry of Health in collaboration with WHO and other partners launched a national wide preparedness and response plan for COVID-19 which will support coordination and planning with surveillance and rapid response teams.

The plan will also include teams of professionals who cover and case investigation, case management, laboratory testing, risk communication, community engagement and social mobilization, and infection prevention and control.   

Front-line health workers

Nurses and midwives as front-line health workers also are playing a crucial role in supporting the COVID-19 preparedness and response activities to ensure the rapid identification of cases to stop transmission and prevent the spread of the virus in order to save lives.

The U.S. government recently donated $8 million to South Sudan to help its efforts to stop the spread of the pandemicprevent the coronavirus pandemic from reaching the central African country.

Dr Olushayo Olu, the WHO Representative for South Sudan said: “As we crossed 12 000 reported cases of COVID-19 in Africa and four confirmed cases in South Sudan, we need to take a comprehensive blended strategy for controlling the epidemics. The spread of this virus can be significantly slowed or even reversed through the implementation of robust containment and control activities”.