Juba, 19 March 2016 - WHO country office held a three-day workshop for state focal points from 17 to 19 March 2016 at Juba Regency Hotel.

The objective of the workshop was to strengthen the capacity of WHO state focal points and Health Cluster Coordinators to develop substantive knowledge in the overall WHO technical outputs as well as Coordination related skills that will improve the performance of WHO and Health Cluster operations in South Sudan in line with the smart technical focus of the WHO/AFRO Transformation Agenda.

The workshop was launched by WHO Country Representative, Dr Abdulmumini Usman, who urged the participants to stay focused in order to realize the objectives of the workshop. Dr Abdulmumini also thanked the health cluster coordination team who facilitated the workshop under the leadership of Ms Magda Armah.

The 23 participants focused on intensive discussion and learning around five themes: building capacities on coordination for effective results from developmental and humanitarian response; contextual policy and WCO technical and health cluster operations; WHO visibility including effective reporting on outputs in programme implementation at all levels; strengthening programmes linkages and health sector development; and documenting and sharing best practice on health response. Technical assistance on health leadership provided by the WCO in South Sudan contributes to building capacities on developmental health response and health cluster performance. The cluster partners are dependent on health cluster vision for strategic health interventions and therefore WHO must ensure that the vision is sound.

Dr Abdulmumini delivered a presentation on leadership and challenged the participants to uphold excellence, a focused vision and visibility in health leadership in order to generate significant inter-cluster multiplier effects in contributing to an enhanced and strengthened health system in South Sudan.

WCO national level programmes and Outbreaks and Disaster Management Unit were heavily involved and shared the direction of their programmes with the state focal points for technical collaboration and strengthened implementation at the states level. In addition, the state focal points reflected on a number of issues including inputs from WHO emergency nutrition focal point, OCHA, WASH and Nutrition clusters towards an effective and efficient integrated response. All focal points were guided to complete their State specific contingency plans for 2016.

At the closing ceremony, Dr Abdulmumini reminded the team to stay focused on health security and to forge ahead with taking health service delivery closer to the communities through the Boma Health Initiative to realize health gains in South Sudan.

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For more information, please contact:

Technical Contacts: Ms Magda Armah- +211-955036448;  armahm [at] who.int (armahm[at]who[dot]int) 

Communication Contact: Ms Jemila M. Ebrahim- +211-950450007;  ebrahimj [at] who.int (ebrahimj[at]who[dot]int)

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Below:

01 Dr Abdulmumini Usman makes a presentation on leadership during the workshop

02 Dr Allan Mpairwe makes a presentation on Inter agency health kits during the workshop

03 Some of the state focal points in a group discussion

04 WCO Health Cluster Team staff poses for a group photographs