JUBA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan and Uganda have agreed to remove administrative barriers to facilitate the rapid movement of health personnel, medical vehicles, and emergency supplies across their shared border.
The commitment was formalized Monday evening in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, when the two countries' health ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cross-border disease surveillance, joint outbreak response, and regional health security.
South Sudan's Vice President for the Service Cluster Hussein Abdelbagi Akol stated that the government will expedite temporary visa and work permit waivers to allow emergency personnel to move unhindered across the border to support joint surveillance activities.
"The Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of Uganda stand united in our resolve of strengthening cross-border collaboration, seamless information sharing, and preparedness and coordinated response to the public health threat," Akol said during the signing of the MoU.
South Sudan Health Minister Luke Thompson Thoan Teny said the MoU elevates bilateral cooperation from informal goodwill to an institutionalized rapid-response framework, and he cautioned that localized disease outbreaks can quickly escalate into regional emergencies.
Under the pact, the two nations will exchange real-time epidemiological data, issue mutual outbreak alerts, execute joint contact tracing, standardize border entry screening, and coordinate mobile health unit deployments.
Uganda's Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi emphasized that the agreement is critical given the frequent cross-border movement and lessons learned from past epidemics.
Baryomunsi noted that Uganda contained its recent Ebola outbreak within about 73 days, recording 20 confirmed cases, 18 recoveries, and two fatalities, and reaffirmed the country's readiness to share its containment experience with South Sudan.
Baryomunsi urged both nations to move swiftly from signing to implementation, emphasizing that the agreement requires a structured roadmap outlining clear priorities, responsibilities, timelines, and resources.
He also called for broader regional cooperation, proposing the creation of a standby health workforce, similar to regional security arrangements that could be rapidly deployed to countries facing disease outbreaks.
Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention South Sudan Country Director Tolbert Geewleh Nyenswah said that South Sudan has identified 15 high-risk counties and 22 priority entry points as key components of its preparedness strategy.
Nyenswah noted that the country's updated six-month preparedness plan requires over 30 million U.S. dollars to bolster laboratory infrastructure, medical supplies, logistics, disease surveillance, and healthcare worker safety. ■