Fyffes team return from humanitarian mission to South Sudan

Gerry Cunningham and Emma Hunt-Duffy of Fyffes joined Irish rugby star and UNICEF Ireland ambassador, Donncha O’Callaghan on a visit to South Sudan to assess the extent of polio in that country and the administration by UNICEF of a vaccination programme being funded by Fyffes

A contingent representing Dundalk-based banana importers Fyffes and members of the international children’s aid organisation UNICEF has returned from a fact-finding mission to South Sudan to assess the extent of polio in that country and the administration of a vaccination programme being funded by Fyffes.

The campaign to immunise as many young children as possible, age 5 years and under, against the deadly virus, will follow similar lines to last year when, with Fyffes backing, UNICEF administered polio vaccinations to over 1million young children in Nigeria with the result that the deadly virus has since been effectively eradicated in that country.

Accompanying them on their visit was Irish rugby second-row forward and UNICEF Ireland ambassador, Donncha O’Callaghan who, apart from seeing the work being done to combat polio in South Sudan, has joined the campaign to enlist public support for the vaccination programme.

Speaking on behalf of Fyffes, their managing director Gerry Cunningham said: “Since forming our partnership with UNICEF in 2008, we have undertaken a number of major initiatives all with the aim of combating disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Our hope is that this latest project in South Sudan will mirror the outstanding success we had last year in halting the spread of polio in Nigeria”.

The campaign in South Sudan forms part of UNICEF’s goal to eradicate polio worldwide by 2018. It will target young children affected by the ongoing conflict, focusing on those living in remote areas and in known polio hotspots.

Following the visit, Peter Power, Executive Director, UNICEF Ireland said: “Every year, about 29,000 children under the age of five die every day mostly from preventable causes. With Fyffes’ support an estimated 250,000 children in South Sudan alone will be immunised against polio”.

Doctor Deirdre making a big difference in South Sudan

Dr Deirdre Lynch from Dundalk

A LOCAL GP is currently volunteering in South Sudan with Doctors Without Borders, helping to provide life-saving treatment for thousands of refugees.

Dr Deirdre Lynch (pictured above) is based in the Batil camp, where 38,000 people have sought refuge from fighting and violence in neighbouring Sudan.

To mark World Refugee Day, Deirdre – who is also a consultant radiologist in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda – wrote a column in The Irish Times earlier this week describing her experiences.

You can read her account of things here.