Juba, 11 November 2024: A nationwide campaign aimed at vaccinating 3.3 million youngsters from 0 to 59 months of age against polio launched in South Sudan the usage of the glossy Oral Polio Vaccine form 2.
The campaign led by the Ministry of Health, with the toughen of the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and other partners, is according to the confirmation of 12 cases of circulating variant poliovirus across eight counties in Western Equatoria, Central Equatoria, Upper Nile, and Jonglei States.
In South Sudan, immunization coverage has been impacted by population actions and displacement related to the ongoing humanitarian disaster, making it harder to reach the youngsters who need vaccinations the most.
The circulating variant poliovirus cases can happen when the weakened stay virus in the oral polio vaccine spreads among of us that are no longer fully immunized. This obtain of the virus can cause paralysis. A number of doses of the vaccine will protect against each wild and the circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Viruses.
“The resurgence of vaccine-derived poliomyelitis was a shock and a colossal setback to our milestone achievement and pleasure brought about following the declaration of the nation wild polio-free in 2020,” said Honourable Yolanda Awel Deng, Minister of Health. “As a nation, we are leaving no stone unturned in our resolution to cease the transmission of poliomyelitis. Today, we are mounting this campaign with the aim of making certain that every baby in all places in South Sudan is no longer ideal reached with these vaccines nonetheless stable against the disease.”
“The World Health Organization expresses profound gratitude to the government and people of South Sudan, the generous support from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partnership, as well as health partners for their unwavering support and dedication to protecting children from polio,” said Dr Humphrey Karamagi, WHO Representative for South Sudan. “This vaccination campaign is an important step in our mission to ensure polio, a disease that can be completely prevented, doesn’t threaten any child’s life. This effort shows our strong commitment to ensuring that no child is at risk of polio.”
“Each baby has the lawful to develop up free from preventable diseases, and polio is one among the most dangerous but fully avoidable diseases. UNICEF reiterates its commitment to toughen the Ministry of Health and partners in turning in vaccines to every part of South Sudan so that no baby is left vulnerable to polio,” said Hamida Lasseko, UNICEF Representative in South Sudan.
In December 2023, South Sudan confirmed an outbreak of circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus Variety 2 (cVDPV2) and declared it a ‘Public Health Emergency’. To combat the resurgence of poliomyelitis in the nation, two nationwide polio vaccination rounds have been efficiently carried out in February and April 2024, vaccinating 3.3 million youngsters aged 0 to 59 months all thru each of the two rounds.
About the circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus form 2 (cVDPV2)
Circulating variant poliovirus cases can happen when the weakened stay virus in the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) regains power and spreads among of us that are no longer fully immunized. This obtain of the virus can cause paralysis. To forestall this, all youngsters need to obtain the oral polio vaccine all thru the campaign, and all thru the non-campaign time, it’s robotically given with other vaccines in the health facility. Getting a number of doses of the vaccine will protect against each wild and circulating variant polioviruses.
At declare, paralytic polio infections are being reported in a number of African international locations, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Zambia and South Sudan.
For extra information, please contact:
Ministry of Health: George Awzenio Legge, Email: georglolegge [at] gmail.com (georglolegge[at]gmail[dot]com), Tel.: +211924324875
World Health Organization: Atem John, Email: atema [at] who.int (atema[at]who[dot]int), Tel.: +211921736375
UNICEF: Richard Ruati, Email: rruati [at] unicef.org (rruati[at]unicef[dot]org), Tel: 211 921 359 578
