JUBA – South Sudan, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), has intensified disease surveillance at border points to curb the spread of mpox and Ebola diseases.
The team from the Ministry of Health on Monday revived the Infectious Disease Unit (IDU) at Nimule in a bid to enhance cross-border disease surveillance.
Dr. Harriet Pasquale Akello, undersecretary in the Ministry of Health, said the WHO has established and handed over a 15-bed infectious disease facility to the Magwi County Health Department.
“The establishment of the Infectious Disease Unit at the Nimule point of entry will help South Sudan to expand the response capacity to timely detect, assess, report, and respond promptly and effectively to public health risks,” Akello said in a joint press statement issued on Monday.
Akello said it reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening surveillance and response mechanisms to prevent communities living along the borders from disease infection.
“I am grateful and would like to extend my thanks to WHO and ECHO for the generous support” she said.
From her part, Dr. Humphrey Karamagi, WHO Representative for South Sudan, said that “Our primary focus is to enhance surveillance efforts, which includes screening all travelers at major entry points with Uganda. Screening has already started in several high-risk areas.”
Karamagi said WHO is in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other partners to prevent infection and improve the well-being of South Sudanese at risk.
“With support from WHO, a multidisciplinary team of public health experts is currently dispatched to Nimule and Kajokeji to conduct risk assessment and define priorities for strengthening early detection, investigation, and response to Ebola Virus Disease.”
South Sudan has consistently faced an elevated danger of new diseases such as the Ebola virus, yellow fever, cholera, the continuing COVID-19, and others that pose a concern to worldwide public health security due to cross-border disease transmission.
