The Battle Between Humanity And Infectious Diseases

According to Mayor Clinic, infectious diseases are 'disorders caused by organisms, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites.' It's sometimes can break out in a large area, which has taken a heavy toll on human life. In a press release published in 1996, WHO stated that 'infectious diseases kill over 17 million people a year, global crisis.' The battle between humanity and infectious diseases has occurred for millennia. Although humans have made considerable progress in advancing the healthcare system, people have fallen victims to disease faster than ever before. This issue has myriad causes, including rapid globalization, modernizing transportation, and densely populated urban areas. Countless casualties caused by recent epidemic outbreaks pose a serious threat to international security as well as human existence. Therefore, this apparently requires that all member states involved and the international community join hands to solve.

The United Nations, since its inception, has been actively involved in promoting and protecting good health worldwide. Leading that effort within the UN system is the World Health Organization (WHO), whose constitution came into force in 1948. WHO staff, who include medical doctors, public health specialists, scientists and epidemiologists, and other experts are at work on the ground in 150 countries worldwide. They advise ministries of health on technical issues and provide assistance on prevention, treatment, and care services throughout the health sector. In 2005, WHO instituted the International Health Regulations (IHR), with the intent of having a consolidated system to track the evolution of diseases, share expertise on pathology, alert nearby countries of potential threats, and provide medical emergency responses. At the 71st World Health Assembly, held from 21-25 May 2018, delegates adopted a resolution on cholera prevention and control urging the Member States and the Director-General to act on cholera prevention and urging cholera-affected countries to implement a roadmap that aims to reduce deaths from the disease by 90% by 2030. In an attempt to deal with the Ebola epidemic, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa said that WHO is investing a huge amount of resources into preventing Ebola from spreading outside DRC and assisting governments in their readiness to respond in case any country have a positive case of Ebola.' Another example is the establishment of The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB), and Malaria, a new partnership and funding mechanism initially hosted by WHO, which is created in collaboration with other UN agencies and major donors. It aims are to “attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to support attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations.”

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Being situated in African, like other countries, South Sudan now has faced up to not only the extreme political situation but also unstable social conditions. In South Sudan, infectious diseases pose a major public health challenge and cause lots of loss of living. Frequent disease outbreaks are driven by multiple factors, including the conflict leading to the displacement of people, overcrowding, and a poor healthcare system. With nearly 3 million cases reported since 2015, malaria is one of the main causes of disease and death in South Sudan. Besides, the current ebola epidemic in DRC has been recorded is at risk of spreading to the surrounding areas. Facing with this situation, The Ministry of Health of South Sudan, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other partners, started vaccinating health workers and other front-line responders against Ebola as part of preparedness measures to fight the spread of the disease. At present, South Sudan is preparing for any potential case of Ebola spreading beyond the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As part of these preparedness activities, South Sudan received 2160 doses of the Ebola vaccine and handed it out to the people living near the Congo's border.

South Sudan feels that it's important for close coordination among South Sudan, WHO, and the Member States. South Sudan strives to ensure harnessing all stakeholder's commitment and advocacy in sustained funding, collaboration, communication, and networking including community participation to enhance coordinated responses, as well as tracking and prompt case management. In addition, South Sudan will develop some tools and approaches related to diagnostics and novel therapies as well as three important public health systems- laboratory systems, networking, and coordination systems to detect and then respond to health threats. When a country has an outbreak of an infectious disease such as measles or cholera, a good health system that can detect it early is essential to help prevent further spread, and save lives and resources. Moreover, South Sudan demands more support from the UN to train more healthcare workers and to launch more vaccination campaigns. Besides, countries having infectious disease outbreaks, especially the Democratic Republic of the Congo should take measures to control the infectious areas and prevent infectious people from crossing the border.