Kuajok residents benefit from free medical campaign by Bangladeshi peacekeepers

Achol Deng has been sick with stomach pain for days. Her son has malaria and a bad cough.

She has been unable to access to healthcare because of a scarcity of medical centers in Kuajok and the wider Warrap region. Many facilities were destroyed during the conflict that raged across South Sudan in 2013 and 2016 and are yet to be rebuilt due to the ongoing dire economic situation.

To provide relief to Achol and other residents, Bangladeshi peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan provided a free medical camp that treated more than 100 people with various ailments, including malaria, which is rampant during the rainy season.  

Bangladesh medical officer, Major Shadid Al-Amin, said the aim was to support the most vulnerable and build a strong relationship between the peacekeeping mission and the communities it serves.

“We are here to serve to the best of our ability,” he said. “We hope to have made a difference to their lives.”

One of the beneficiaries, 60-year-old Anei Kuol, had been suffering pain for three days without treatment when he arrived at the temporary medical facility.

“It is a relief to finally get the care that I need,” he said.

A public health officer from the Kuajok Ministry of Health, Ngor Bol Majok, said the continued support from the Bangladeshi peacekeepers provided a lifeline for many community members who are struggling to survive financially, let alone to access the medical care they need to live healthy and productive lives.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).