Juba, 24 October 2016: To mark the World Polio Day, which also coincided with United Nations day, the WHO Country Office in South Sudan and the Ministry of Health organized a one day campaign to immunize children against the vaccine preventable disease. Polio eradication in South Sudan is a national emergency and has been a priority for WHO and partners.

The event was held in Nyakuron Cultural Center, Juba, to raise awareness and immunize children 0 – 59 months. To maintain high levels of vaccination coverage, the campaign reached 429 children 0 – 59 months with Oral Polio Vaccine and 371 with measles vaccine, regardless of previous vaccination status. In addition, 201 children less than one year received Pentavalent vaccine and 169 women 15 – 45 years were also vaccinated against Tetanus.

In his message on the day, Dr. Maleghemi Sylvester, EPI Focal Point for WHO South Sudan acknowledged the tremendous gains towards polio eradication evidenced by the highly sensitive surveillance system in place and no record of a  wild polio case since June 2009, but urged all to maintain vigilance and to guard against the virus being re-introduced. Despite the gains, serious challenges remain, for example, conflict limits consistent access to high-risk populations and this continues to hinder efforts to vaccinate every single child under five, and compromises surveillance.

In March and April 2016, the South Sudan Polio partnership conducted two rounds of the National Immunization Days (NIDs) reaching at least 3.1 million children 0-59 months in each round.

At the moment an estimated 450 000 children 0 – 59months  are estimated to be at risk of polio in South Sudan. To ensure that a higher proportion of the populations are continuously protected, two rounds of supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) are planned for November and December 2016, to ensure the country remains polio free.

The fight to end polio is led by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which includes Rotary International, USAID, WHO,  UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and governments of the world, with the support of many others partners.

On behalf of Dr Abdulmumini Usman, WHO Country Representative to South Sudan, Dr. Maleghemi pledges WHO’s continued commitment and support to ensure that all children are reached with high-quality interventions including routine immunization.

______________________________

For more information, please contact:

Dr Sylvester Maleghemi, EPI Focal Point, Tel: +211 956 779 467, Email: maleghemis [at] who.int (maleghemis[at]who[dot]int)
Mr Kofi Boateng, EPI Consultant Tel: +211 955 026 052, Email: boatengk [at] who.int (boatengk[at]who[dot]int)
Ms Jemila M. Ebrahim, Communication Officer, Tel: +211 950 450 007, Email: ebrahimj [at] who.int (ebrahimj[at]who[dot]int)