Stories
April 29, 2025 • 2 min read
In Warrap State, South Sudan, widespread conflict and insecure health systems have triggered mass displacement, leading to a devastating cholera outbreak that has affected thousands. Through focused interventions, GOAL has significantly improved the situation, providing essential healthcare, sanitation, and support to strengthen local health systems, helping to control the outbreak and reduce its impact on vulnerable communities.
Displacement and Disease
In South Sudan, displacement due to conflict and poor health systems has fuelled a cholera outbreak, spreading rapidly as people move in search of safety. The crisis has forced displaced communities into overcrowded camps with poor sanitation, creating a perfect storm for the disease to thrive. An already strained healthcare system—lacking medical supplies, trained health workers, and laboratory capacity—has struggled to contain the outbreak, turning it into a full-scale humanitarian health emergency. The displacement of people to remote, hard-to-reach areas makes detecting and responding to outbreaks even more challenging. Containment efforts are further hindered by low public awareness of prevention measures and logistical difficulties in delivering vaccines and treatments to those in need.
Collaboration for Crisis Management
In response to a cholera outbreak in Warrap State, GOAL, in partnership with the State Ministry of Health (SMOH) and the County Health Department (CHD) in Gogrial West, has initiated a rapid and strategic intervention under the Health Sector Transformation Project (HSTP). This involved mobilising critical medical supplies and setting up a Cholera Treatment Unit (CTU) to deliver urgent, life-saving care. The swift and decisive actions of stakeholders ensured the efficient allocation of resources, playing a crucial role in saving countless lives.
Understanding the vital role of prevention, GOAL implemented impactful awareness campaigns in high-traffic areas, including Magai and Thurnyior markets. These efforts focused on promoting hygiene practices and the importance of safe water usage. A pivotal moment came when a female community leader urged GOAL and the Ministry of Health to provide water purification equipment, demonstrating the community’s growing awareness and proactive response to the outbreak.
Empowering Health Workers
GOAL addressed healthcare capacity gaps by delivering on-the-job training at facilities like Atukuel and Mayom Totin PHCUs. Refresher training for Boma Health Workers, conducted in collaboration with CHD, equipped them with skills to effectively identify, treat, and refer cholera cases. These efforts enhanced healthcare workers’ ability to manage the crisis and prepared them for future health emergencies. One remarkable success was the case of a six-year-old boy at Magai CTU who showed dramatic improvement just an hour after receiving treatment.
In addition to immediate care, GOAL facilitated the formation of Boma Health Committees, with women taking central roles in promoting health and hygiene education. Leaders like Adut Malek advocated expanding the number of health workers, reducing child mortality, and increasing immunisation coverage in remote villages.
Strengthened Systems for a Resilient Future
Through a combination of emergency response, public education, and system strengthening, GOAL contained the cholera outbreak and fortified the healthcare system to better withstand future epidemics. The intervention transformed challenges into opportunities for sustainable community health improvement, leaving a legacy of resilience in Warrap State.
