South Sudan: Containing Corona with Volunteers

756 Volunteers in Action

In order to contain the corona pandemic, 756 Johanniter volunteers have been raising awareness about the virus and proper hygiene behaviour since March. Posters, flyers, and megaphones supported this effort. Almost 120,000 people in the Jur River and Wau region have been reached so far. In addition, 12,450 pieces of soap were distributed to families with children under five years of age. Almost 46,000 pregnant and lactating women and mothers have been informed and sensitised in numerous health stations.

Despite low case numbers, South Sudan is bearing the multiple effects of the pandemic. "The closing of borders to stem the spread of the virus has also created shortages of basic goods and therefore has hiked the cost in the country. This leads to increasing poverty," says Charles Okidi, Johanniter´s Head of Mission in South Sudan. 5.5 million people in South Sudan are already dependent on humanitarian aid due to a plague of locusts and recent floods. The pandemic also has concrete political effects: The creation of a unified army was one of the core aspects of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan, signed in 2018. The government decided to suspend the training of the unified forces as a precautionary measure – a decision that affected 29 000 combatants.