The national health ministry and its partners on Monday launched the South Sudan One Health Multisectoral Coordination Mechanism (MCM) platform aimed at harmonizing joint efforts in mitigating health crises in the country. 

Speaking during the launch in Juba, Yolanda Awel Deng, the national minister for health, said the initiative aims at coordinating efforts in responding to health crises.

“This one health stop coordination platform is going to help us in regards to the inclusive process to mitigate any health crisis in the country because there is no one health issue that is in isolation for example the cholera outbreak in Malakal,” she said. “That alone shows that two line ministries have to come together and then they have got one strategy that is going to mitigate future crises.”

The Platform brings together all the key line ministries and agencies responsible for human, animal, and environmental health coordination.

Minister Awel said the platform is going to be a coordination body that is going to help the government to utilize the little resources they have and the resources from the donors properly.

She said the Platform was supposed to be initiated in 2020 but was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, the minister of cabinet affairs, pledged to support the initiative with the support of the president to secure the health of the South Sudanese and the environment. 

“As the minister for cabinet affairs, I will work with the president to ensure the Platform is given maximum support and if technically needed we will also be around to do what is necessary to secure the health of our people, our environment, and health of our animals, both domestic and wildlife,” he said.