South Sudan News

The Ministry of Health in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO) reviews the integrated diseases surveillance and response.

In a two-day consultative meeting from 25 - 26 November 2019 in Juba, stakeholders reviewed the performance of the Integrated Diseases Surveillance and Response (IDSR) program.

“I was called to help a pregnant woman in the IDP camp”, says Dr Tony Tombe, a doctor with the WHO mobile medical team.  “When I reached the camp, a woman was heavily pregnant and visibly in pain and labour.  There was no other skilled person around to attend to her delivery. I rushed her to the nearby Zamoi primary health care unit where we proceeded to safely deliver the baby girl.

Zamoi primary health care unit had been nonfunctional for a long time, upon our arrival with medicines we were able to re-open the facility where she received life-saving care.

Juba, 15 November 2019 – To mitigate the risk of cholera outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, UNICEF and MedAir are immunizing 144 033 people against cholera in Renk, a county bordering Blue Nile state in Sudan.

Juba, 1 November 2019: “Timely risk communication and community engagement results in preventing the spread of diseases and better management of hazards at household and community level,” said Dr Atem Nathan, the Director General for Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health.

Risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) are critical to health emergency preparedness and response as key strategies for International Health Regulations (2005) and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework.

Juba, 25 October 2019: To improve reporting performance and capacity to detect outbreaks, South Sudan reviewed and adapted the Third Edition of the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) guidelines for timely detection and prompt response to disease outbreaks and public health risks.

Aluak Bol arrived at the health facility anxious about the health of her 18-month-old daughter, Apen Magot Mabeny. She had a fever, excessive mouth salivation and poor appetite. She cried horribly when urinating, which was reddened.

“We don’t have enough food to feed our children, especially during the dry season. Because of this condition, she is 18 months old but she doesn’t talk and walk compared to children her age,” Aluak tells the certified midwife on duty.  She has five other children at home in the village of Cuei-cok in Rumbek Center, the former Lakes State.

Juba, 17 October, 2019 – The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched at the global level health events termed Walk the Talk events. The first of this kind took place before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High level meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in New York, 23 September, 2019.  Subsequent events have since been organized in WHO Headquarters, Regional Officers and many Country Offices.

With support from the World Health Organization (WHO), South Sudan has developed and costed a National Action Plan for Health Security, which is a comprehensive, multisectoral blueprint to strengthen the country’s core capabilities to manage health risks (as well as save lives and avoid interference to international trade and travel) during emergency situations, as required by the legally binding International Health Regulations (2005).

Juba, 30 August 2019 – Over 40 health care workers in South Sudan have been trained on infection prevention and control (IPC) in health facilities to strengthen health care safety and quality.