6 January 2013 - Over 2,000 South Sudanese wounded in fighting that broke out on 15 December had received surgical treatment from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, according to a report issued by WHO today.

“WHO continues to support health cluster coordination to strengthen partners’ delivery of health care services for the displaced people,” said the report. “UNMISS in Juba, Bor, Bentiu, Malakal and other locations continued operating and providing trauma management, primary health care and reproductive services to displaced people.”

Some 61 babies were delivered in UNMISS bases in Juba and 2,404 wounded people received surgery in five states. There were also 94 evacuations to various hospitals in Unity, Upper Nile, and Central Equatoria State respective capitals Bentiu, Malakal, Juba and Kuajok, the report said.

Sanitation in camps in Juba was poor, which had resulted in watery diarrohea being one of the two most common illnesses, alongside malaria.

In addition to antibiotics and anti-malarial drugs, WHO was providing medical supplies for trauma management. But it needed more trauma kits to handle the great need among displaced persons.

“WHO is running low on supplies… due to ongoing fighting in various states caused by delays of trucks carrying WHO medical supplies at the border between South Sudan and Uganda,” the report revealed.

Working with UNICEF, the WHO was also supporting other health partners in their plans to carry out mass measles, polio and deworming campaigns.

“Following reports of suspected measles cases in Juba IDP (internally displaced person) camps and in Bentiu, health partners working in these camps have supported sample collection while WHO is providing all the logistics to send the samples to Nairobi for further analysis,” the report said.

The report said that health partners and authorities were scaling up early warning and surveillance in conflict and other high risk areas, but the process was slowed by absence of workers in most facilities due to insecurity.

Supporting medical evacuation in Jonglei State capital Bor had also been limited due to insecurity.

“Referrals have become quite complex as some patients fear to be referred to certain hospitals due to safety concerns,” the report noted. “WHO and the health cluster have held discussions with the protection cluster to explore any possibilities of patients’ safety in the event that they are transferred to government-owned facilities.”

According to the report, complication in the referral process had resulted in over-congestion at UNMISS clinics, which had limited capacity and could not accommodate the huge numbers of the injured.