Responding to Cholera Outbreak in South Sudan with Emergency Medical Shipment

To stem an outbreak of cholera in South Sudan, AmeriCares sent an emergency shipment with enough medicine for 5,000 people suffering from the highly infectious disease. The shipment arrived in Juba on Friday, June 27.

The cholera outbreak began in the South Sudanese capital of Juba in late April; within weeks, more than 1,700 people were infected and 38 people had died from the disease, which causes diarrhea and dehydration.

The government is working with humanitarian agencies to contain the spread of cholera by improving water and sanitation services.

For those already infected, treatment with medicine is crucial. AmeriCares shipment contains rehydration therapy, including oral rehydration salts, for 4,500 people with moderate cases and intravenous fluids to treat 500 patients with extreme cases of cholera. Our partner in South Sudan, the International Organization for Migration, will distribute the medicines to treatment centers in Juba and Malakal, in the north, which is under alert for cholera.

Escalating Crisis

Even before this cholera outbreak, South Sudan was experiencing an urgent health and humanitarian crisis, as, since December 2013, a violent ongoing conflict has forced more than 1 million people from their homes within the country, while an additional 350,000 have fled to neighboring countries.

To help those people displaced within South Sudan, AmeriCares will be sending two Interagency Emergency Health Kits, with enough medicines and supplies to meet the needs of a population of 20,000 for three months. Our partner the International Medical Corps will use the medicines in their clinics.

In early April, AmeriCares sent two Interagency Emergency Health Kits to our partner in neighboring Uganda, where more than 100,000 South Sudanese who had fled the conflict were resettling. The emergency health kit contained enough medicines and supplies to support the needs of a population of 20,000 for three months. 

Our team of AmeriCares aid workers in Uganda reported urgent medical gaps in refugee settlements where our partners are providing crucial care and humanitarian aid to people fleeing the conflict.

History

Since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has been one of the world’s poorest and under-developed nations, with little infrastructure and few hospitals or health centers. Amid the violence and instability in this troubled region, AmeriCares remains committed to helping the people of South Sudan as long as our support is needed.