Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
U.N. warns of expanding cholera outbreak in South Sudan and funding constraints for response
Loading...
Summary
U.N. peacekeeping and humanitarian colleagues described a rapidly expanding cholera outbreak in South Sudan with nearly 80,000 cases and over 1,400 deaths since September; funding shortfalls are constraining scale-up of vaccines and response.
U.N. peacekeeping and humanitarian officials said Thursday that South Sudan is facing a rapidly expanding cholera outbreak that has become the worst in the country's history, with nearly 80,000 suspected cases and more than 1,400 deaths reported since September.
The briefing said flooding, displacement and limited access to basic services have driven the outbreak, and that the crisis has evolved into a complex emergency. U.N. colleagues and partners are working with the Ministry of Health to preposition supplies, maintain health and nutrition services, expand surveillance and early warning, improve water and hygiene and scale up cholera vaccination.
The humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, Anita Kiki Gabe Gebeho, joined a coordination meeting with the government, U.N. officials said. Despite those efforts, the ability to scale up the response is severely constrained by funding shortfalls; the country's humanitarian response plan seeks $1.69 billion and was reported as 22% funded with about $368,000,000 in the bank.
Ending: The U.N. called for sustained funding and humanitarian access to scale up life-saving cholera prevention and treatment.
