The first group of the 8th Army contingent of the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (SLAMC) left to serve United Nations Peace-Keeping Mission in South Sudan’s Level-2 Hospital (UNMISS) on Wednesday (December 29).

Chief of Defence Staff and Army Commander, General Shavendra Silva extended his wishes to the first group comprising of 11 officers and 22 other ranks at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake.

The rest of the contingent is due to depart on January 31, 2022, soon after the first group of the serving contingent returns home, according to Sri Lanka Army.

The 8th South Sudan bound contingent included 66 Army personnel and is commanded by Lt. Col. N.M Niflar.

The contingent includes Ward In-Charge, nurses, critical care nurses (gynaecological), operation theatre technician, Physiotherapists (DPM), radiographer, X-ray technician, radiologist, dentist and dental assistant, dental technician, medical storeman, pharmacist, pharmacy technician, lab technician, lab technologists, communication technicians, hygiene assistant, administrative clerk, cooks, ambulance drivers, sanitary duty man, mortuary attendant, etc. and Other Ranks from the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps, Sri Lanka Signal Corps, Corps of Engineer Service, Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Sri Lanka Army Service Corps and Sri Lanka Navy.

South Sudan’s Bor-based new SRIMED Hospital is manned by SL troops and is equipped with necessary components for secondary care medical services, including an operating theatre, labour room, intensive care unit, emergency department, out-patient department, dental surgery, dental workshop, pharmacy, medical store, radiology department, clinical laboratory, ECG room, the sterilizing department, biomedical engineering section, medical waste disposal section, freezer mortuary, isolation ward and laundry plus wards and an aeromedical evacuation facility with ambulatory resuscitation and ventilation capabilities.

Senior officers including Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Vikum Liyanage, officers and other ranks were also present at the occasion.