South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Jenifer James
The Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has today launched an ambitious integrated health campaign aimed at protecting over 2.1 million children and 1.2 million adults from two debilitating diseases: polio and Schistosomiasis.
Running from 23 to 26 September 2025, the campaign will see health workers and volunteers going door-to-door across 40 counties to administer the novel Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to children under five years old. They will also provide preventive measures with Praziquantel tablets to school-aged children and at-risk communities for Schistosomiasis in three counties—Awerial, Renk, and Bor South—as well as 11 Payams.
This innovative integrated approach marks a significant advancement in public health efficiency, enabling the Ministry to tackle two major health priorities through a single, coordinated effort, thereby maximising resources and outreach.
The leadership of the Ministry of Health has stated that this intervention reflects the country’s unwavering commitment and determination to halt the transmission of polio and safeguard children.
“This dual strategy aims to address the challenges of reaching populations in hard-to-access areas and improve vaccination coverage to stop cVDPV2 outbreaks, which have increased due to low immunisation rates. We urge parents and communities to fully engage in the fight by ensuring their children are vaccinated to strengthen their immunity and mobilise support for the successful implementation of the campaign,” said Hon. Sarah Cleto Rial, Minister of Health.
“Thanks to our collective efforts under the leadership of the Ministry of Health, our resolve to fight polio has been consistent and unrelenting. We have built preparedness, prevention, and detection capabilities, strengthened surveillance across the country, trained healthcare workers, and provided necessary tools. As a result, we can promptly identify cases, investigate, and respond,” said Dr Humphrey Karamagi, WHO Representative in South Sudan.
This round of sub-national polio vaccination is crucial as it will enable stakeholders to reach children who were missed during previous campaigns and routine immunisation, thereby boosting their immunity against polio.
“Every child has the right to health and to thrive. This campaign addresses two significant barriers to that right. UNICEF is proud to support a government-led integrated health campaign. We are proactively protecting our children. Parents and caregivers should ensure their children are immunised, not just against polio, but against all preventable childhood illnesses. We know that susceptibility to polio also arises from diminished immunity, caused by zero doses and low immunisation rates,” said Mr Obia Ochieng, Acting UNICEF Representative in South Sudan.
All these interventions have been made possible through the generous support of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). GPEI’s support to South Sudan represents a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to strengthening the health system that extends far beyond vaccine donation.
