Out of the many humanitarian issues challenging the population in South Sudan, cholera is currently one of the most dangerous. Responding to an outbreak in Jonglei State, UN peacekeepers from South Korea have provided Bor State Hospital with essential medical supplies.
The potentially lifesaving goods, including 1,000 doses of cholera medication and intravenous fluids and equipment needed for infusions, are urgently needed. In Bor’s camp for internally displaced persons, 18 cases have already been confirmed, with one child having succumbed to the disease.
“Previous outbreaks have caused despair and fear all across our country, which makes it crucial for us to have adequate resources available, both to avoid rising death tolls and to prevent this waterborne disease from spreading further,” commented Riek Gai Kok, Governor of Jonglei State.
To assist local authorities in such successful prevention, the South Korean contingent, serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and aware of locals frequently sharing scarce water resources, also handed over much-needed water purification pills to help avoid mass contamination.
While constituting a good start, the Governor stated that other measures are also needed, including effective cleaning and waste management routines.
To reduce the population density and better protect residents at crowded camps, he has also called for many internally displaced persons to be relocated to safer areas. Coupled with community awareness raising on how cholera is transmitted as well as on safe food preparation procedures, he hopes that the battle against the life-threatening disease can be won.
With camps for the internally displaced becoming increasingly overcrowded and with sanitation systems being unable to cope, Geetha Pious, Head of the peacekeeping mission’s Field Office in Bor, says there is no time to lose.
“To mitigate the problems arising from the dangerous combination of limited living space and poor sanitation, UNMISS will continue to provide hygiene articles, medications and other necessary items that may sometimes be missing,” she said.
UNMISS peacekeepers in Jonglei, from South Korea and elsewhere, have a long history of helping local communities in need. Apart from handovers of medical supplies, they have also built an emergency ward, a pharmacy, an outpatient department and a temporary intensive care unit for the main hospital in Bor.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
