By Yiep Joseph
Threats of Cholera scourge in Juba and other parts of the country, altered Christmas preaching to sensitization on preventing spread of the deadly disease.
Talks on Cholera scourge, capitalized Christmas prayers at St. Stephen, in Giada, Juba, as Church leaders laid emphasis on hygiene.
Addressing a large congregation, a priest, John James Wani emphasised the need for a massive improvement of hygiene around homes as a remedy to curb flaring Cholera.
Though Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the priest called on “protecting lives from cholera” while appealing to a congregation of over 2700 believers at the Church.
He expressed that cholera continues to kill people, and there is a need for everyone to take responsibility for maintaining maximum hygiene.
“All of you are aware of the cholera outbreak, and there is a need for all of you as believers to send this message home: please keep maximum hygiene in your houses and around your home.” James said.
He urged the congregation to spread the same message to their neighbours, adding that cholera spread very fast in areas with compromised hygiene.
“Please tell your neighbour to keep his or her home clean; it will protect them from cholera,” he added.
The priest called on the public to report any case related to cholera to the nearest health centre in order to reduce the spread.
On his part, a member of the Church council, Daniel Kuol, called on the believers to drink clean water while keeping the environment clear.
He called on all the families to have latrines and toilets, adding that some families continue to have poor hygiene due to lack of latrines.
Kuol called on the congregation to continue to spread the message, adding that the most vital information is health institutions as well as churches where many people gather.
Cholera prevention.
Drink and use safe and clean water. Wash your hands often with soap and safe water before, during, and after preparing food.
Others include Use toilets Flush or bury poop, and frequently clean and disinfect kitchenware and areas where you prepare food with soap and safe water, among other things.
Cholera outbreak
First declared on 28 October in Upper Nile State, the outbreak has since spread to Unity, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Jonglei, Lakes, and Eastern and Central Equatoria states, reporting an estimated 6,617 cases across the country, according to the World Health Organization.
Recently Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urgently called on local authorities and national and international humanitarian organizations to immediately scale up the response to the rapidly escalating cholera outbreak in South Sudan—especially in the camps for internally displaced people.
In a press statement, the medical charity said persistent chronic gaps in healthcare, funding cuts, dire water and sanitation conditions, and gaps in other essential services have created the perfect conditions for the disease to spread.
“In the camps in Unity and Central Equatoria states in particular, MSF teams are witnessing an alarming and rapid increase in the number of suspected cholera cases, which are overwhelming the capacity to respond,” the statement said.
MSF said the scale of the outbreak is too great for it to contain it alone and urgently appealed to donors to increase funding for the cholera response and for national and international humanitarian organizations to scale up critical interventions without delay.
MSF is also calling for the rapid roll-out of a nationwide vaccination campaign.