South Korean peacekeepers help fighting cholera in South Sudan

In South Sudan, South Korean peacekeepers are helping to fight the cholera outbreak in Jonglei State. They have supplied Bor State Hospital with potentially lifesaving goods, including 1000 doses of cholera medication and intravenous fluids. The hospital serves a camp for internally displaced people, where 18 cases and one death have already been confirmed. According to Riek Gai Kok, Governor of Jonglei State, local healthcare workers must have adequate resources available to contain the spread of the disease and avoid further deaths. The South Korean contingent, serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), also provided water purification pills to help prevent mass contamination. It is not the first time that peacekeepers in Jonglei State have helped local communities in need. In the past, they have also built an emergency ward and a temporary intensive care unit for the main hospital in Bor.
Though appreciating the peacekeepers’ contribution, Governor Riek Gai Kok said that more efforts are needed to fight the cholera outbreak in the state. He also called for relocating many internally displaced persons to safer areas to reduce the overcrowding in local camps. Geetha Pious, Head of the peacekeeping mission’s Field Office in Bor, agreed with this point, adding that UNMISS will continue to help mitigate the problems arising from the combination of overcrowded living spaces and poor sanitation.