WHO and the Gov’t of Japan establish a port health facility at Juba International Airport.

The Japanese government has provided South Sudan a Port Health Facility to assist with passenger screening at Juba International Airport (JIA) (JIA).

The facility was constructed at Juba International Airport by the Japanese government in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) (WHO).

Speaking to reporters at the facility’s handover ceremony at Juba International Airport on Friday, Dr. Victoria Anib, undersecretary at South Sudan’s Ministry of Health, said the facility will help in the identification of international disease transmission.

“South Sudan is very happy today to have this capability to minimize international disease transmission and to help in the detection of not only Covid-19 but also other illnesses like yellow fever and other diseases that may be transmitted through travel and across the border,” Anib added. “This port health facility is important because it helps in monitoring and disease prevention, as well as safeguarding worldwide security because we are a part of the global village.”

Tsutsumi Naohiro, the Japanese Ambassador to South Sudan, stated, “In order to respond to this global problem, Japan started this effort last year through WHO to p

revent the cross-border risk of Covid-19 and other illnesses in order to save more lives.” “I would like to congratulate the people of South Sudan on this accomplishment,” Ambassador Naohiro remarked.

There are numerous components in the facility, including screening, cold storage, power backup, a yellow fever unit, a holding area, a data office, a conference room, and washrooms.

“Today, the ministry of health is pleased to announce that we have established a Port Health Facility at Juba International Airport to mitigate the risk of cross-border disease spread and to minimize the risk of travel public health security,” said WHO country representative in South Sudan Dr. Fabian Ndenzako.

South Sudan’s Ministry of Health stated it intends to construct a similar port health facility at the Nimule border to ease passenger screening.