UNICE: Cholera cases rapidly multiplying in South Sudan
20 May 2014 03:22 PM
The
caseload of cholera is rapidly increasing in South Sudan, and the deadly,
highly contagious disease appears to be spreading, UNICEF said
recently..
Since the outbreak of cholera in the capital, Juba, late
last week, the reported cholera caseload has doubled every day; now with new
reported cases in two additional states, Jonglei and Upper Nile.
After the first case was confirmed in Juba four days
ago, more than 130 additional cases are now being treated. There are three
confirmed deaths. Dozens of children are among the affected.
“The severity of the cholera outbreak is just one
manifestation of a country failing its children,” said Jonathan Veitch,
UNICEF Representative in South Sudan. “Cholera puts ever more strain on
the most vulnerable, whose health is already compromised by a nutritional
crisis.”
Since January, UNICEF has warned of the threat of
cholera, due to the desperate overcrowding of camps following continued
violence, and now the rainy season. Last month the UN Children’s
Fund said that unless nutrition treatment is scaled up immediately, up to
50,000 children under the age of five are likely to die.
In
response to the cholera outbreak, UNICEF has helped establish a Cholera
Treatment Centre (CTC) at the Juba Teaching Hospital, together with the
provision of life-saving supplies – including medicines, protective gear,
and equipment, and is expanding preventive measures to halt further spread
across the country.
However UNICEF in South Sudan urgently needs US$10m
(£5.9 million) so as to continue current lifesaving operations, and
increase its cholera prevention work.
Other immediate actions by UNICEF
include:
• Provision of clean water and essential
sanitation, in the cholera treatment centre and across the
country
• Provision of medical and hygiene equipment,
oral rehydration solutions and chlorine to Government authorities and NGOs in
Juba
• Provision of temporary wards - for both
triage and patient care at the cholera treatment centre
• Distribution of thousands of litres of clean
drinking water at the CTC, as well as fuel to ensure consistent electricity
supply for patient treatment
• Training of hundreds of health workers,
teachers, community leaders and volunteers in Juba on the prevention of cholera
symptoms and prevention
• Pre-positioning of diarrheal disease kits in
Protection of Civilians sites and at sub-national level
• Mass dissemination of public health messages
in five languages through radio, banners, posters and community mobilization.
The
cholera response in South Sudan is led by the Ministry of Health, with support
from the WHO, UNICEF partners.
Notes to editors:
For
further information, please contact:
Claire Blackburn, UNICEF UK, + 44 (0)20 7375
6261 claireb@unicef.org.uk
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