UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
Torit in the Eastern Equatoria region of South Sudan has porous borders with Uganda and Kenya and, consequently, is an area considered geographically at a higher risk of COVID-19 due to illegal movements from neighbouring countries.
News
As part of its ongoing commitment to support local efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, UNMISS handed over some 7,000 face masks, protective glasses, gloves and disinfectants to local hospitals in Torit.
The Anika Women's Association in Yambio is providing door-to-door awareness-raising sessions and putting up posters with messages from the World Health Organization in public places as well as in front of individual residences. These messages have been translated into local languages by UNMISS.
UNMISS peacekeepers from Bangladesh are providing basic sewing training to eight local women in Wau to enable them to produce cloth face masks.
The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, David Shearer, joined the Head of UNICEF South Sudan and the Minister of General Education on Radio Miraya to launch a new remote learning programme for school children.
In Bor, the peacekeeping mission has established a partnership with local organizations to combat COVID-19.
Six water tanks to facilitate frequent hand washing. That's what UNMISS is installing at strategic places in Rumbek.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General/Head of UNMISS, David Shearer, held a virtual press conference on COVID-19 at the mission's headquarters in Juba, South Sudan, today.
Mongolian peacekeepers serving with UNMISS used their engineering expertise to renovate the Abiemnhom Hospital which was in disrepair after years of war. They repaired and painted walls, fixed the electricity supply and extended the cabling system so that it reaches all the hospital’s main rooms. The engineers created a special isolation room for COVID-19 patients, installed new water tanks, hand washing facilities, and handed over a wide variety of medical supplies.
UNMISS has partnered with the newly-formed Citizens Taskforce on Covid-19, a group comprising of citizens from every walk of life in South Sudan, to address misconceptions about coronavirus and complement efforts made by government authorities to tackle the pandemic.