By Yiep Joseph
As cholera cases surged to 1,076 with eight recorded deaths in Upper Nile state, the Ministry of Health and its partners have intensified their response to rescue lives.
In an effort to enforce effective response and protect the civil population, National Minister of Health, Yolanda Awel Deng, together with UN Resident Coordinator Anita Kiki, among other partners, visited cholera treatment sites in Upper Nile state on Tuesday.
The visiting team inspects health centres and facilities in the state in order to ensure that the facilities are improved.
According to a statement obtained by this outlet, the officials witnessed and acknowledged that the influx of people from Sudan worsened the situation.
“The officials acknowledged that the situation has been worsened by the influx of refugees and returnees, coupled with inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure,” the statement read.
Minister Awel echoed the government’s commitment to ensure that prevention and treatment measures are put in place.
The minister acknowledged the challenges facing health facilities across the country and the cholera-affected areas and pledged to continue working closely with partners to rescue the population.
Awel called on the health officials and workers in the state to ensure that the cholera outbreak is well handled.
She encouraged and recommended their ongoing efforts and encouraged them to maintain focus on patient care.
Earlier, the government and health partners established cholera treatment centers, including 117 beds across key locations in Malakal and Assosa, which have treated over 900 patients with moderate and severe cases.
Additionally, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) partners have provided more than 1.5 million litres of safe drinking water daily to over 95,000 people, in addition to distributing water purification tablets.
The minister emphasized the importance of raising awareness among the communities to enable people to get the necessary information.
She revealed that many doctors have been stationed in various medical centres to control masses.
Awel urged the partners in the state to work collectively with the government to ensure that people are protected from a dangerous cholera outbreak.
He added that besides government and partner efforts to intensify response, there is ongoing awareness on radios to ensure that people clean their environment and maintain a clean environment to prevent cholera.
Since the outbreak in September, Upper Nile State has reported 1,076 cholera cases and 8 deaths, with Malakal alone accounting for nearly 973 of those cases.