WHO to undertake vaccination exercises against cholera, targeting 1,44,044 in Renk County
A woman holds her child while a member of the Medair vaccination team gives her baby a measles vaccination jab (Photo:MEDAIR/Diana Gorter)
Nov 17th, 2019 (SSNN)-The World Health Organization (WHO), in a joint effort with the Ministry of Health, is slated to conduct mass vaccination exercises against cholera on Monday, targeting about 1,44,044 people in Renk county.
“The oral cholera vaccination provides protection to the vulnerable populations during the period when access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene are inadequate in cholera hotspots,” said Olushayo Olu, WHO Representative to South Sudan.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that Renk County is one of the most cholera-prone areas due to its proximity with Sudan and the fact that a number of returnees are still flocking from Sudan to Renk county, there is a high risk of disease outbreaks.
“The affected states included Blue Nile and Sennar bordering Ethiopia and
South Sudan respectively. Given the proximity and since returnees from Sudan are streaming into Renk town, the risk of cholera importation to Renk is high,” it said.
The World Health Organization has confirmed that more than 2,000 doses have been collected.
“With support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a total of 2,80,033 doses of vaccines have been secured to prevent the risk of cholera outbreak in high-risk areas of the country.”
“For the vaccine to be most effective, people need two doses administered two to four weeks apart,” the World Health organization added.
The UN health agency said that given the risk of infectious outbreaks like cholera in South Sudan, it has developed a system to anticipate/forecast cholera epidemics for effective preparedness.
Facebook Comments