South Sudan News

November 2016 - In response to the poliomyelitis outbreak associated with type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) and ambiguous vaccine derived polio virus (aVDPVs)  identified in Unity state,  the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with Ministry of Health and partners immunized over 155 000 migrant children under the age of 15 through special vaccination posts. Type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) and ambiguous vaccine derived polio virus (aVDPVs) was being detected in September 2014 and April 2015 respectively.

24 November 2016, Juba, South Sudan – Cholera continues to be a public health threat to children, young adults, and other vulnerable groups in South Sudan. The recurrent outbreaks since 2013 demonstrate the continued vulnerability of the population to the disease, which is preventable and treatable. Since 21 July 2016, more than 3 100 cholera cases and 44 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 1.4%.

November 2016 - As part of its  priority areas to scale up the country’s mental health and psychosocial care as well as coordinate existing efforts for better mental healthcare and psychosocial support   for South Sudanese, WHO engaged in an extensive consultation with national and international partners to identify needs and priorities to protect and improve people's mental health and psychosocial well-being.

November 2016 - With the aim to improve access to safe essential medicines, WHO carried out an in-depth assessment and mapping of the country’s procurement and supply management system as well as the mechanisms for medicines procurement and distribution in public and private sectors.

Juba, 02 December 2016 – Partners and Experts involved in routine immunization services gathered in Juba for a 4- day working session to review the 2016 Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) work plan and finalize plans for 2017 GAVI grant taking into considerations setbacks of July crisis and determining real and practical situations to get the country back on track in order to achieve the goal of ensuring every child is immunized.

Juba, 21 December 2016 – An armed man attacked a passenger vehicle on a main road outside Juba, on Tuesday, 21 December 2016, killing Mr James Leke Kuji, a World Health Organization (WHO) health worker on the spot.

18 January 2017, Juba, South Sudan – WHO South Sudan in partnership with the MoH, UNICEF and other partners including state directors general for health and Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) officers of all states, gathered from 17 to 21 January 2017 at Juba Grand Hotel to plan on how to reach 2.3 million persons with measles vaccines in the face of a difficult operating environment.

20 January 2017, Juba, South Sudan – Public health laboratories are a critical component of communicable disease detection, prevention, and control. However, access to reliable laboratory testing remains limited in in sub-Saharan African countries including South Sudan.

For efficient and improved quality of laboratory service delivery, WHO South Sudan supported the Ministry of Health to harmonize and strengthen the capacity of the laboratory personnel on basic and advanced laboratory diagnostic techniques from 16 to 20 January 2017.

03 February 2017, Juba, South Sudan – The deteriorating security situation in South Sudan, along with disruption of health services, increased population displacement, overcrowding and poor environmental conditions, led to more frequent disease outbreaks.

09 February 2017, Juba, South Sudan – In South Sudan, polio eradication continues to be a national priority with renewed commitment at all levels to sustain the interruption of the wild polio virus within the country.