In the News
Vietnamese field hospital supports disease prevention efforts at South Sudan primary school
In response to a call from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to support community efforts against cholera and Ebola, Vietnam's Level-2 Field Hospital Rotation 7 has donated medical supplies and conducted disease prevention training for teachers and students at Sunshine primary school in Bentiu.
The activity also marked the Day of the African Child (June 16), observed this year under the theme “Ensuring universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene for every child in Africa.” It was carried out with the participation of the Pakistani engineering unit and the Mongolian ground force serving with the UN peacekeeping mission.
More than 500 gift sets, including notebooks, pens and other school supplies, were presented to teachers and students at the school. The hospital also donated hand sanitiser to improve hygiene conditions and help reduce the risk of disease transmission at the school.
Throughout the programme, doctors and medical staff from the Vietnamese field hospital, together with personnel from the participating units, provided hands-on guidance to students on proper handwashing, personal hygiene, and environmental sanitation and guidance on recognising the early symptoms of cholera, Ebola and other common infectious diseases.
With local healthcare resources remaining limited, the organisers said these basic preventive measures play an important role in protecting community health.
A highlight of the programme was the donation of a school medicine cabinet, prepared by the hospital's staff to enable teachers to provide basic first aid to students on campus. Medical personnel also trained teachers to identify common injuries, use medicines and medical supplies appropriately, and perform essential first-aid procedures before patients are transferred to healthcare facilities.
Gabriel Galuak, deputy headmaster of the Sunshine primary school, said the institution had previously lacked even basic first-aid equipment. He expressed his delight at receiving the medicine cabinet, saying it is of great significance to the school's students.
In addition to the health education activities, the hospital's youth union members helped repair several school facilities and designed and donated 40 educational posters on personal hygiene, healthcare and infectious disease prevention for long-term use in teaching and learning./.
