Delivering Personal Protective Equipment to Ensure Delivery of Health Services
Public health systems continue to come under severe strain due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic which has affected the delivery of essential health services.
As the outbreak continues to evolve globally, governments and their respective Ministries of Health (MoH) have continued to invest in prevention measure as there is no cure or vaccine yet. So far, the African continent had recorded over 100, 000 cases. As of 20th August 2020, South Sudan confirmed cases continued to rise with 2,494 confirmed cases and 47 deaths.
The over-arching goal of Health Pooled Fund (HPF) during the COVID-19 pandemic has been to ensure that essential health services continue to operate at optimum level at HPF supported facilities. To adapt to the new reality, the programme has revised activities to apply new, innovative ways of ensuring that the programme’s core pursuits continue, without compromising on quality.
With the steady rise in COVID-19 cases, the need for PPE is more critical than it has ever been in South Sudan. HPF has procured Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that will support in the response and case management of COVID-19 cases across the country. This consignment of PPE was delivered to the HPF warehouse in Juba and will be distributed across the country.
Personal Protective Equipment Distribution.
A total of 55 County Health Departments and hospitals will be receiving the PPE which have been packed into kits. Additional COVID-19 literatures on home management of persons with flu like symptoms are also included in the PPE distribution.
Alex Jones, the HPF distribution manager explained that these kits will be delivered to all the facilities targeted by the end of August 2020. “We are distributing 53 tonnes of PPE packed in 134 kits across 55 counties in eight states which we support. To enhance effectiveness and from lessons learnt from previous distributions, majority of these kits will be delivered by air with only kits going into Central Equatoria going by road. This will ensure that we have all these PPE in the facilities by 28th August 2020″ said Jones.
Health Pooled Fund Support during COVID-19
HPF continues to support the South Sudan MoH in delivering essential health care to communities across the country. In July 2020, HPF continued verification of COVID-19 preparedness, readiness in Guit, Koch, Kapoeta South, Maridi and Ibba counties where health programming is being implemented by CORDAID, International Rescue Committee (IRC), CCM and AMREF respectively.
Collaboratively, HPF, MoH, State Ministries of Health and HPF implementing partners have ensured that all supported health facilities are operational. Strict infection prevention measures have been put in place to ensure that patients and healthcare workers are not at risk.
HPF has also ensured that risk and behaviour change communication is a priority so as to raise awareness within the communities and encourage positive behaviour change. With the Boma health workers[1] being already engaged in the programme and present in the states, the programme took the opportunity to train those health workers, to enable them to pass on correct and consistent information within their communities.
In July 2020, 437,431 outpatient consultations were reported in HPF supported facilities. Out of these, 152,681 were for children under 5 years old. Additionally, BHWs delivered 87,692 treatments to children under five years for uncomplicated malaria (41,245), pneumonia (22,810) and diarrhoea (23,637).
[1] A community member(s) selected by the members of a Boma to provide community health services to the community. The BHWs are trained on how to treat and diagnose uncomplicated malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia and refer severe cases to the nearest health facility.