S. Sudan to step up disease control after South Africa benchmarking visit
The visit, organized by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposed South Sudanese officials to practical lessons at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
By Anak Dut
South Sudan health experts have hailed their experiences following their five-day benchmarking visit to South Africa.
The visit, organized by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposed South Sudanese officials to practical lessons at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
It was intended to strengthen laboratory systems, improve data management, and lay the foundation for a national antimicrobial resistance surveillance plan.
Dr. Abe Abias, Head of South Sudan’s Antimicrobial Resistance Program, said the visit was a turning point for the country.
“This visit marks a significant milestone for South Sudan as we plan to apply this knowledge in setting up our national antimicrobial resistance surveillance plan,” he said.
“We already have a strong One Health coordination mechanism and this experience is key to starting antimicrobial resistance data collection.”
At the NICD’s Healthcare-Associated Infections, Antimicrobial Resistance and Mycoses (CHARM) department, the delegation observed antimicrobial testing procedures, reviewed quality assurance protocols, and studied ways to integrate surveillance data into health systems.
Fowzia Mohamed Sheikh, Antimicrobial Resistance Officer at Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Eastern Regional Coordinating Centre, noted that South Sudan is only beginning its antimicrobial resistance work, making this exchange crucial.
“South Africa’s system is well established. South Sudan is just starting, so this partnership will be vital,” she said.
She added that South African experts will support the review of South Sudan’s draft National Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Plan.
The visit also enhanced the technical skills of South Sudanese staff, who will now help implement the program.
Prof. Olga Perovic, Principal Pathologist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD)CHARM, said South Africa would continue to support African Union member states through similar exchanges with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention helped South Sudan develop its National Action Plan on AMR in 2023. The exchange forms part of a wider initiative launched in response to Africa’s growing AMR burden, which claimed nearly 1.3 million lives in 2019.
Despite the scale of the threat, many African countries still lack strong surveillance systems. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says exchanges like this are key to building technical capacity and ensuring no country is left behind in the fight against drug resistance.
For South Sudan, the Johannesburg visit is expected to fast-track the establishment of a context-specific national surveillance system that will guide phased implementation and protect communities from the rising danger of drug-resistant infections.
