JUBA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday its providing lifesaving health care services to displaced populations and host communities in 22 locations in South Sudan.
Olushayo Olu, WHO Representative for South Sudan, said it has been procuring, storing and distributing medical emergency kits to support humanitarian response focusing on outbreak response for epidemic-prone and vaccine-preventable diseases.
"Provision of medical emergency kits for essential lifesaving health interventions is vital to investigate suspected disease outbreaks and respond in a timely manner, and save the lives of displaced populations," Olu said in a statement issued in Juba.
WHO said a total of 24 participants drawn from 20 health cluster partners (National and International NGOs) were trained on requisition, distribution and rational use of emergency kits from Feb. 11-12 as part of the ongoing efforts to ensure that health service is provided without drugs stock outs.
The UN health agency said similar training will be conducted from Feb. 21-22 targeting 36 precipitants from 30 health cluster partners to optimize the distribution and rational use of life-saving medicines.
According to WHO, an emergency health kit is a reliable, standardized complete set of drugs, supplies, and equipment needed to provide basic health care service to the population in need.
The protracted crises in South Sudan coupled with frequent disease outbreaks, and a high burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases including mental and psychosocial conditions, have resulted in the deterioration of the health status of the population.
In addition, supplies of medicines and medical commodities have been irregular and inadequate, leading to frequent stock-outs and interruptions of essential service delivery.
