{"id":20651,"date":"2026-06-15T14:39:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:39:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mission-21.org\/?p=20651"},"modified":"2026-06-15T15:14:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T13:14:21","slug":"ebola-virus-threat-also-looms-over-south-sudan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mission-21.org\/en\/news\/ebola-virus-bedrohung-auch-fuer-den-suedsudan\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebola Virus \u2013 Midwifery School Responds to the Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

The people of South Sudan are facing a new threat. The Ebola outbreak, with about 900 cases so far in the neighboring country of Congo-Kinshasa to the south, is causing concern. The health care system is severely weakened\u2014partly due to the loss of funding from USAID. Mission 21 supports a midwifery school in Juba. The director, Geoffrey Omari, wants to deploy the school\u2019s graduates to work on prevention and awareness-raising.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo poses an existential threat to South Sudan. Although no cases of Ebola had been reported in South Sudan itself as of mid-June, the disease has already spread from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Uganda, which also borders South Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Sudan\u2019s health care system has been severely weakened by USAID\u2019s withdrawal. Urgently needed medications are no longer in stock; many people have lost their jobs at medical organizations. Dorina Waldmeyer, South Sudan Program Manager at Mission 21, says: \u00abThree-quarters of the people in South Sudan depend on humanitarian aid. This includes primarily food, but also medicines and other everyday necessities.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mission 21 supports a midwifery school in the capital, Juba, which serves as a vital training center in the fight against high child and maternal mortality rates in South Sudan. In light of the new threat posed by the Ebola virus, the school\u2019s director, Geoffrey Omari, expresses concern but also a strong commitment in our conversation. He hopes to help contain the spread of the Ebola virus through training and public awareness campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geoffrey Omari, what impact is the Ebola outbreak having on the midwifery school? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are already indirectly affected in our day-to-day lives. Due to border controls between South Sudan and Uganda\u2014where a large portion of our supplies come from\u2014we are receiving far fewer goods from Uganda. This is leading to higher food prices and, as a result, significantly higher costs for us in providing meals for our boarding school students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will specific changes be made to the training program?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have stepped up our efforts to teach infection prevention in the classroom. Otherwise, the program is proceeding as usual, and we expect to conclude the semester on July 3. We are currently preparing students for their end-of-semester exams. I am optimistic that the situation will not change significantly before the summer break. At the same time, we remain vigilant in case the situation should worsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are also in contact with midwives who completed their training at the school. Do some of them work in border regions where they are exposed to high risk?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our graduates are working throughout South Sudan. Fortunately, however, they are not in high-risk areas, and no one is working in Congo-Kinshasa. A few are working on the Ugandan side, where border screenings and restrictions on cross-border travel are in place; I\u2019m worried about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you considered any measures to respond to the current situation?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am also developing a strategy to raise awareness among midwives. We aim to provide health education at facilities in Juba as well as at the Presbyterian Church. Through health education materials on communicable diseases, including Ebola, and screening activities, we plan to reach elementary schools, secondary schools, and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church throughout South Sudan. In the church congregations in these regions, we are working with our graduates to build their capacity so they can respond when needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What could an Ebola outbreak mean for local midwives?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Ebola were to reach South Sudan, we would have to temporarily suspend our activities and organize our work from home to reduce the risk of infection. I very much hope it doesn\u2019t come to that. Ebola outbreaks are unpredictable, and if the disease spreads, the consequences can be severe because both the mortality rate and the burden of disease are high. We must implement early and effective infection prevention measures; then we may be able to significantly reduce the risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the threat, you seem optimistic. What gives you hope that you can continue the program and effectively implement these measures?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ministry has a clear policy and a response mechanism in place in the event that a case is detected. I am also encouraged by the screening measures at the borders, particularly for people traveling from the Congo and Uganda into South Sudan. If everything continues to go according to plan and we implement the infection prevention measures as intended, I believe we can manage the situation. That gives me hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interview: Lukas Geer<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Die Menschen im S\u00fcdsudan stehen vor einer neuen Bedrohung. Der Ausbruch des Ebola-Virus mit bisher rund 900 F\u00e4llen im s\u00fcdlichen Nachbarland Kongo-Kinshasa l\u00f6st Besorgnis aus. Das Gesundheitssystem ist stark geschw\u00e4cht \u2013 auch aufgrund der weggefallenen Beitr\u00e4ge von USAID. Mission 21 unterst\u00fctzt eine Hebammenschule in Juba. Der Leiter Geoffrey Omari m\u00f6chte die Absolventinnen der Schule f\u00fcr […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":20655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"152","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_searchwp_excluded":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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