Eastern Sudan: Sennar measles vaccination campaign targets more than a million children
A Sudanese child receiving measles and polio vaccines (File photo: WHO)
The authorities in Sennar have completed all arrangements to launch a six-day measles rubella vaccination campaign tomorrow. About 1,360,500 children in the state will be vaccinated.
Chairing the joint meeting of the state’s Council of Ministers and the security committee in the state capital of Singa, Sennar Governor Tawfig Mohamed affirmed that “all efforts will be exerted to make the campaign a success” and directed the directors of the localities in Sennar to address the challenges facing the campaign.
The Sennar state police chief, Maj Gen Tariq El Reyeh, who spoke on behalf of the security committee, reported that the committee “has developed a solid plan to secure the campaign”. Policemen have been deployed in all localities.
Ghazi El Garray, head of the immunisation department of the Sennar Ministry of Health said that the campaign targets 1,360,500 children in the state within six days. Sennar. He called for “concerted efforts by the authorities and the population to make the campaign a success”.
The medic said that that this campaign will be followed by other vaccination campaigns, against diseases such as cholera, also spreading in the state, and meningitis.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported a rise of suspected cases of measles and malnutrition among children in Sudan in August 2023. MSF was providing routine immunisation services to 30 to 40 children in White Nile state each day but said a mass vaccination campaign was needed. A month later, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) sounded the alarm on a measles outbreak in White Nile state.
In mid-November, 2.2 million cholera and 7.5 million measles rubella vaccines were airlifted to Port Sudan for distribution to combat disease outbreaks across Sudan, in a collaborative effort by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Radio Dabanga reported earlier this year on the further spread of measles in various parts of the country.
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