Health Pooled Fund transports supplies to help boost World Vision’s COVID-19 campaign in South Sudan

“The delivery of these COVID-19 supplies this week is very timely. The information materials composed of multi-lingual posters and job aids will ensure that our over 500 community health workers will do the campaign effectively. Fifty of the posters have been translated into Zande, the main local language in Western Equatoria State, making discussions easier for us”, says Stephen Leonard Epiu, World Vision’s HPF3 Project Manager.

Over 300 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in South Sudan, a country that struggles for its inadequate and poorly equipped health system. To help respond to this pandemic, World Vision’s partnership with the Health Pooled Fund (HPF) has intensified training and mobilization of community health workers, boosting their ability to reach even remote villages. Medical supplies were also pre-positioned in preparation for an outbreak.

“Our partnership efforts with HPF were very crucial during the Ebola virus preparedness and response last year. It has proven that coordinated efforts and timely partnerships are vital to raise awareness and prevent disease outbreak”, says Biruk Kebede, World Vision’s Interim Director for Projects and Partnerships.

The World Vision Health Pooled Fund (HPF3) project that covers Western Equatoria’s Yambio, Nzara, Nagero, Tambura and Ezo counties and Warrap’s Tonj North County helps address the urgent healthcare needs of more than 400,000 people, at least 220,000 of them are children under five years old. It supports and equips 87 health facilities composed of three hospitals, 19 primary healthcare centers, and 65 primary health care units.

Despite the absence of regular flights to transport the COVID-19 materials during this crisis  to support World Vision’s campaign, the Health Pooled Fund made the transport possible through its partnership with Mission Aviation Fellowship.

As part of our COVID response, HPF and World Vision will provide screening at health facilities and conduct awareness-raising through community health workers using the materials developed.

World Vision has also worked with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) since 2017 helping deliver emergency supplies and transporting staff in areas where there are no humanitarian air services such as in Nzara and Tambura counties. Kebede adds, “Despite the absence of regular flights to transport the COVID-19 materials during this crisis to support World Vision’s campaign, HPF made the transport possible through its partnership with MAF.”

HPF is a pooled fund with contributions from Department for International Development (DFID), European Union (EU), GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

By Cecil Laguardia, Communications Manager I Photos by World Vision field staff