Oxfam reaction on confirmed cases of cholera in Juba, South Sudan

On Thursday 15 May the Ministry of Health announced 18 confirmed cases of cholera in various locations across Juba. The source of the disease is not yet known. Oxfam will be working together with other aid agencies to respond to the outbreak and prevent the spread of the highly contagious disease.

A cargo of supplies, including oral rehydration salts, chlorine, water treatment and disinfectant and soap will be arriving from Oxford to Juba on Sunday, and Oxfam will begin responding on Monday. Oxfam is currently determining with other actors priority areas of operation. We will be building latrines (only 6% of people in South Sudan have access to latrines), providing buckets, treating water, mobilizing communities to do garbage collection  and communicating good hygiene practices to these communities to reduce the spread of the disease.

With a quick response, it is hoped that the outbreak can be contained. But this outbreak highlights the squalid living conditions of many South Sudanese particularly in urban areas, and the scale of public health risk this poses. It also demonstrates how urgently funds are needed to respond to increasingly dire humanitarian situation in South Sudan.