The African Development Bank on Wednesday approved a $4.16 million grant to South Sudan to support the emergency response to COVID-19 and strengthen the country’s fragile health system.
In a statement seen by Radio Tamazuj, the bank said the grant will provide funding for the project to enhance the capacity of South Sudan’s health facilities and to bolster the country’s capacity to detect cases and curb the spread of the virus.
The world is facing an unprecedented challenge of containing the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigating its impact on people’s lives, livelihoods and economies.
"The country remains at high risk. With limited hospital bed capacity, gaps in health workers' skills and competencies and a lack of functioning medical equipment, South Sudan is ill-prepared to respond to the pandemic," the bank said.
The statement further said the bulk of activities under the Bank-funded project will focus on improving facilities for the management of COVID-19 cases, including the procurement of oxygen cylinders and vital signs equipment and the recruitment and training of health workers.
According to the statement, the project will be implemented by a team at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in close coordination with South Sudan’s Ministry of Health.
African Development Bank Country Manager for South Sudan, Benedict Kanu noted that while it’s too early to estimate the full economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on South Sudan’s growth performance, given the disruptions to businesses in South Sudan’s key trading partners including China, Uganda, Kenya, and Italy, a notable economic impact of COVID19 is likely to be felt in the medium to long term.
South Sudan reported its first case of COVID-19 on April 5, 2020, followed by increasing numbers of cases daily. As of June 17, 2020, the country had reported 1,813 cases, 31 deaths and 89 recoveries.
Currently, the small number of confirmed cases are being managed at the country’s sole infectious disease facility, the Dr. John Garang Infectious Diseases Unit. However, the current capacity of the facility is only 24 beds.