Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) have signed a co-operation agreement to implement projects aimed at strengthening the health emergency preparedness system in Sudan at a total cost of $556,567 to benefit 2,452,800 people in the states of White Nile and Kassala.
The agreement was signed for QFFD by Deputy General Manager for Development Projects Misfer bin Nasser al-Shahwani, and for QRCS by Assistant CEO for International Operations and Partnerships Faisal bin Rashid al-Fehaida.
Under the agreement, several activities will be implemented, including building the capacity of staff and volunteers through organising a series of workshops and training courses, developing the capacity of the public health laboratory in White Nile and Kassala, in addition to five laboratories in the health facilities in the two states to enhance diagnostic and epidemiological interventions.
The agreement also includes rehabilitating and equipping eight health isolation centres, including five in White Nile State and three in Kassala State, according to the system followed by the Ministry of Public Health in Sudan, in addition to testing the emergency preparedness plan in 16 districts in the two states by strengthening technical platforms and printing materials for information, education and communication, and training five rapid response teams.
In addition, 50 health workers and 200 volunteers will be trained on skills to deal with outbreaks and rapid intervention in epidemic cases, based on the training protocols approved by the Ministry of Health and the guidelines of the World Health Organisation.
In co-ordination with the Ministry of Health, QRCS will select 166 epidemiological surveillance sites in areas of need, and it will furnish and equip 16 sites from them, and it will also train staff at each surveillance site in accordance with the protocols and guidelines of the Ministry of Health and the WHO.
Unprecedented floods in Sudan have destroyed more than 100,000 homes, killed more than 100 and displaced hundreds of thousands. Most states and regions are living in catastrophic conditions.

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