South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
The launch of polio vaccination campaign is timely following the confirmation of 12 cases of Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus Type 2 (cVDPV2) across eight counties in Western Equatoria, Central Equatoria, Upper Nile, and Jonglei States.
Every South Sudanese child has a right to good health, and this joint initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The government in 2020 declared the country free of polio, and the resurgence of the polio virus calls for speedy efforts to arrest it’s spread.
This campaign needs to be supported by the national and state governments in terms of provision of security for the vaccinators. This support should also ensure that children 0 to 59 months in flood affected areas are vaccinated.
This opportunity should not be squandered as it is the third round of vaccination targeting 3.3 million children.
About 3.1 million children were vaccinated in the two rounds in February and April 2024.
The government and the two UN agencies need to spread public awareness to combat stereotypes, that may arise during the polio vaccination campaign.
