Preparing the country for the Covid-19 outbreak

ACTED South Sudan is rolling out a country-wide Covid-19 preparedness and response plan in order to continue its life saving operations without exposing staff and beneficiaries to risks, in close coordination with the authorities and other aid actors. To this end a number of key measures are being implemented in ACTED’s programmes:

• Categorization of project activities based on essentiality / lifesaving need, and contingency planning for the best practical adaptation measures in the case of Covid-19 outbreak.
• Physical preparedness whereby all the offices, project implementation sites (specifically distribution sites which will be redesigned) have full set up of handwashing facilities and other necessary structures for social distancing and ways of limiting crowds.
• Mass sensitization of beneficiaries across all project sites, giving beneficiaries regular awareness on the risk of Covid-19 and personal prevention strategies.

Additionally, ACTED as the camp management agency in the Juba and Bor Protection of Civilian (POC) sites, where over 30,000 internally displaced people are residing in overcrowded shelters, will establish risk reduction practices through:

• Utilizing ACTED information desks to increase community sensitization on the importance of hand washing and sanitation through outreach workers and existing community networks;
• Support to all partners operating in the POC sites for the accurate and efficient dissemination of information;
• Partnership with health actors to ensure all community facilities and sanitation facilities within the POC sites will be equipped with adequate hand washing stations.

These initial measures urgently need to be supplemented in order to increase preparedness and response capacities in this war battered country. ACTED is planning a major scale-up of its Covid-19 activities to this end in the weeks and months to come.