UNMISS engineers assist the High-Level COVID-19 Taskforce in clearing an overgrown area around a proposed isolation facility in Yambio, Western Equatoria.
Awareness-raising regarding preventative measures such as frequent handwashing, enforcing physical distancing and restricting movements has been the focus of South Sudanese authorities as they work with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and other partners to protect communities from COVID-19. Western Equatoria is no exception to this, despite challenges posed by porous borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“Just the other day, we identified four people who crossed from the DRC into South Sudan. We immediately isolated and sent blood samples to Juba. Thankfully, all of them tested negative,” says Wilson Thomas Yanga, Acting Governor, Gbudue.
Such incidents have underscored the importance of setting up isolation facilities as well as sample collection points for local authorities; however, economic considerations and a lack of proper infrastructure are proving to be a major challenge for the High-Level COVID-19 Task Force in places like Yambio, reveals Mr. Yanga.
“We are facing problems in finding an appropriate facility to isolate suspected cases. However, with support from UNMISS we are renovating an old guesthouse, which was originally used for high-level visitors, to serve as an isolation centre. Our counterparts from the mission are helping clear the area since it was very overgrown,” he adds.
Till the work on the guest house is completed, the Task Force is using five tents provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a temporary isolation site.
Fortunately, local communities, church groups and civil society organisations in Western Equatoria are also doing their part in the collective fight against coronavirus.
For example, in Ibba the Diocese of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, ably led by Bishop Wilson Kamani, is raising awareness about basic preventive measures by travelling through neighbourhoods with town criers or small megaphones, in addition to distributing soaps and jerry cans for water storage in the rural areas.
“Our attempt as a Diocese is to sensitize our communities of the dangers of COVID-19 and teach them how they can stay healthy and safe from this virus. We are doing everything we can while maintaining basic safety measures such as physical distancing ourselves to generate maximum awareness. In the case of coronavirus, the more people know about it, the more effectively they can protect themselves,” avers Bishop Kamani said.
A similar example is that of I Can South Sudan, a civil society organization based in Tambura. “Ensuring communities receive accurate information about safety measures against coronavirus is critical. We, therefore, are running door-to-door campaigns in villages and distributing soaps to vulnerable children and youth and teaching them to wash their hands frequently,” says James Mupaya Albino, Programme Coordinator.
The Civil Society Network in Western Equatoria State has also joined ongoing awareness campaigns, with special emphasis on sensitizing local populations about physical distancing. “Physical contact such as shaking hands or patting each other on the shoulders comes naturally to the South Sudanese. These are difficult habits to break, but at a time like this, we have no choice. As the Civil Society Network, therefore, we have contributed to buying airtime on local radio stations in Western Equatoria as a quick, impactful way to educate everyone on the importance of physical distancing at all times,” explains Wanga Emmanuel, Chairperson.
For its part, UNMISS has been using its best efforts to fortify and support the South Sudanese authorities across the country to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. “We are part of the High-level Taskforce in Western Equatoria, chaired by the Acting Governor, and also serve on the Technical Working Group,” says Tahiru Ibrahim, Officer-in-Charge, UNMISS Field Office, Western Equatoria.
“It is in this capacity that we tasked our engineers to clear the surroundings of the potential isolation site here. It is a 24-room building and I am happy to say that we have managed to tackle most of the unwanted vegetation in the area,” he continues. “We stand ready to assist local authorities in any way possible to protect the communities we are here to serve. As long as this pandemic continues, we have a duty as UN peacekeepers to tackle this crisis in partnership with all actors to avoid needless suffering for the South Sudanese people.”