Juba – Amidst the ongoing cholera outbreak in South Sudan, the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed gratitude for the excessive again equipped by the UK International, Commonwealth & Trend Administrative heart (FCDO) and WHO’s Standby Partners (SBPs). Their timely and coordinated assistance has drastically enhanced WHO’s skill to again the authorities of South Sudan’s efforts to contain the outbreak.
South Sudan declared a cholera outbreak in October 2024, since then, the Ministry of Health with again from World Health Organization (WHO) and other companions, has mounted a complete response, designating the outbreak as a in point of fact top-priority emergency. This designation has enabled deployment of fleet response teams, prepositioning clinical gives and coordination efforts across all phases to offer protection to communities and genuine lives. Here’s the longest cholera outbreak in the country’s history since independence in September 2011.
With funding from the UK FCDO, five technical experts had been deployed between January and February 2025 thru WHO’s Standby Partners, – CANADEM, RedR Australia and UK-Med for six months. This multidisciplinary surge group brought collectively abilities across key response pillars: case administration, epidemiology, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), well being logistics, and coordination. This coordinated deployment fashioned a dedicated surge group, enabling WHO to again the authorities of South Sudan respond rapid and comprehensively across all key pillars of the cholera response.
The deployment of these five technical experts played a pivotal role in strengthening the response. Every location turned into as soon as strategically selected to enhance the rate, attain, and effectiveness of WHO’s operations. This integrated, multi-disciplinary deployment mannequin serves as a handiest-observe instance of how surge skill will even be optimized to state excessive-affect outcomes during public well being emergencies.
Together, this group bolstered WHO’s operational skill, accelerated outbreak containment, and supported broader emergency well being methods in South Sudan. Their unified presence and complementary abilities underscore the strategic label of well-coordinated international surge deployments in complex public well being emergencies. All efforts had been conducted in shut coordination with nationwide counterparts and in explain again of the Government of South Sudan’s leadership in managing the outbreak.
“This group, supported by FCDO, got right here at a in point of fact excessive time and has equipped a main boost to our response efforts to contain the cholera outbreak,” stated Dr Humphrey Karamagi, WHO Representative for South Sudan, “WHO South Sudan expresses its sincere gratitude to the UK FCDO and our Standby Partners for making this diploma of response imaginable. Their extraordinary commitment has straight contributed to saving lives and strengthening resilience in one of the most country’s most weak communities.”
• Mr. Mukasa Kabiri, Cholera Response Coordination Officer, led the successful rollout of oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaigns, ensuring timely and centered vaccination protection the build in excessive- pains areas.
• Dr. Brendan Patrick Dineen, Epidemiologist, supported the strengthening of accurate-time surveillance and outbreak mapping, enabling proof-essentially based completely mostly resolution making in the Larger Nile Articulate and other arduous-to-attain areas.
• Dr. Fuad Acknowledged Abdulrahman, Case Management Specialist, equipped clinical guidance and training for frontline well being employees, improving therapy outcomes and response readiness in affected facilities.
• Mr. Tai Ring Teh, WASH Officer, supported water quality assessments and hygiene practices at cholera therapy facilities in affected communities.
• Mr. Navjuvon Mazabshoev, Health Logistics Officer, supported logistics operations including the establishing a brand new therapy heart in Tharqueng and improved provide chain administration at Juba Teaching Clinical institution