Over 44,000 Children Vaccinated Against Measles In South Sudan

By Peter LokaleNakimangole

TORIT, 19 April 2016 [Gurtong] – A latest statement by Save The Children issued today, said the just concluded vaccination campaign was in response to a declaration of a measles outbreak by South Sudan’s Ministry of Health and the UN World Health Organization.

The first suspected cases of measles were first reported in early January, it added.

"Tests on two samples subsequently confirmed the outbreak. During the response, Save the Children worked with 460 Vaccinators in 17 fixed screening centres, and 11 outreach sites to carry out the vaccinations.  Children were also screened of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiencies."

The statement stated that the screening results indicate increasing levels for malnutrition among children. During the same campaign, 39,638 children received Vitamin A supplements to boost their immune systems.

"… Until Save the Children’s latest response, there had been no county-wide measles vaccination since 2012.  This was largely due to the breakdown in the cold chain system caused by the outbreak of violence and instability in December 2013, said reads the statement in part.

"The violence and instability also caused serious access constraints in 2015 which limited the coverage of a routine measles vaccination campaign that had restarted in the war affected counties of Unity state."

Save the Children’s Country Acting Director, Ms. Laina Henderson, South Sudan expressed delight at the news of the successful vaccination campaign.

“…Extremely delighted at the fact that we were able to bring life-saving vaccination to thousands of children who would otherwise have been exposed to the highly infectious and deadly disease,” expressed Ms. Laina as she added that it was her organisation’s core mandate, and indeed responsibility to ensure that the hardest to reach and poorest children get access to vaccines and other life-saving services.

“Available scientific evidence has proved time and again that children who get vaccinated against the most common childhood diseases often have a much better chance of surviving past their fifth birthday. As Save the Children, we shall continue doing everything within our power to ensure that we save the lives of vulnerable South Sudanese children who have already undergone immense suffering due to the prolonged conflict,” Ms. Henderson said.

One of the key objectives of Save the Children’s new EHU, according to the statement, is to increase the predictability, speed, and quality of its frontline emergency response in the immediate aftermath of disasters and humanitarian emergencies.

It has an early response team with standing surge capacity, frontline health and surgical services, nutrition, and WASH programming, the statement stated.