Health
REFUGEES in South Sudan are receiving COVID-19 jabs during the rollout of the country’s national vaccination campaign, joining Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda in including refugees in their COVID-19 vaccination plan in the East African Region.
A statement by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday, 13 people, including 10 refugees from Gorom Refugee Settlement, located some 20km outside of Juba, and three members of the host community, including one health worker, visited the Buluk Police Hospital for their vaccines.
For vulnerable refugees, their inclusion in the national vaccination campaign could not have come soon enough.
“I came to receive my first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, I feel very fine, there is no pain and the process is very simple,” shared Ojullu Ochan Ochan, a refugee from Ethiopia. “I encourage all refugees in South Sudan and the region, including the host community, to take the vaccine to protect themselves and their families,” he added.
Health workers are among the group to receive the jab in line with the national vaccination plan of prioritizing frontline workers in the country.
“I came today to take my COVID-19 vaccine in order to share my experience with others and bring home the message that I am doing very well and to encourage others to take the vaccine to protect themselves, their families and their communities,” explained Dut Yual Agoth, a volunteer health worker from the host community with UNHCR partner, ACROSS.
Since the start of the pandemic, UNHCR, in collaboration with its partners and the government, has scaled up its COVID-19 response activities to keep refugees, internally displaced people, returnees as well as the communities hosting them safely across South Sudan.
Life-saving support such as boosting water and sanitation services, increasing access to healthcare including the renovation of health facilities and provision of ongoing regular services including nutrition programmes continued despite the pandemic.
UNHCR also provided three ambulances to state authorities, installed six COVID-19 testing machines in refugee settings in Maban, Jamjang, Makpandu, and in Yei, as well as airlifted various medical items, including oxygen concentrators, portable ventilators, emergency supplies including soap.
UNHCR said it has established two intensive care units in Maban and in Pariang, and COVID-19 isolation units in all refugee camps.
Personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, gowns, and sanitizers continue to be supplied to health facilities that are serving the forcibly displaced families across the country.
“Today, I wish to commend South Sudan for the continued generosity to include refugees as well as internally displaced people in the national preparedness and response plans since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said UNHCR Representative Arafat Jamal.
“Safeguarding refugee health also protects the health of their host communities and wider society, and UNHCR is working with the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and partners to support the roll-out in all refugee hosting locations.”
UNHCR reiterated that refugees, internally displaced and stateless people and their local host communities must be included on an equal footing with citizens in national responses to the pandemic, including public health access, vaccines, and social safety nets, and the South Sudan government has shown this. (PANA/NAN)
– May 23, 2021 @ 14:35 GMT
Tags: Coronavirus: Refugees in South Sudan begin receiving jabs
