The second phase the Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) project in Juba, South Sudan has begun. The African Development Bank (AfDB) financed project, comprising infrastructure, furniture and equipment, will strengthen preparedness and response capacities of the country for public health emergencies, in line with the 2005 International Health Regulations.
According to Elizabeth Acuei Yol, South Sudan Minister of Health, by putting collective efforts into a PHEOC project, the Ministry of Health will be better placed to respond promptly and effectively to public health risks and public health emergencies of international concern
“The health center needs the appropriate design and infrastructure to function effectively, in addition to staffing structure and multi-sectoral coordination,” she said as she presided over the groundbreaking ceremony in the presence of the African Development Bank Country Manager for South Sudan Benedict Kanu, the Head of Cooperation in the Embassy of Japan, Nobuhiro Kikuchi, various Ministry of Health officials, and WHO South Sudan staff.
The minister further highlighted the tremendous and ongoing commitments of the Government of South Sudan, the contributions of the African Development Bank and the commitments of WHO and other partners to strengthen mechanisms for delivering a more integrated public health response during emergencies.
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Building health system capacity in South Sudan
African Development Bank Country Manager for South Sudan, Benedict Kanu, said that the support provided by the Bank is yet another testimony of the Bank’s growing commitment to closely work with the Government of South Sudan, a valued shareholder of the Bank, and other partners, to assist to build health system capacity for emergency preparedness in the country.
Kanu further assured the government of the significance the Bank attaches to human development in its partnership with South Sudan and its donors, and indeed, all other African member countries of the Bank to promote inclusive growth and development on the continent.
