AWEIL — The Ministry of Health in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal State on Monday launched a week-long vaccine to prevent pneumonia and severe diarrhea in children under five.
The campaign is expected to run from 2nd to 8th June 2025, targeting 200,000 children under 5 years old.
The drive, led by the Ministry of Health in partnership with the Women’s Empowerment Center South Sudan (WECSS), a national organization, is supported by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).
David Deng Deng, State Acting Minister of Health, told Sudans Post on Monday that the campaign aims to protect children from pneumococcal disease.
Deng said anemia and rotavirus are leading causes of severe diarrhea among children.
Residents welcomed the campaign, expressing their readiness to take their children for immunization.
Adut Deng, a resident of Aweil Town, appealed to the Ministry of Health to continue to provide the services to the local people in remote areas.
“The EPI workers need to go to the far areas to help immunize all children. This is something that I would like to underscore,” said Deng.
“Also, it is important to note that the population is increasing. We like the campaign to include children of the returnees and refugees as well, and this is something that can help people to get covered all.”
She urged the local population to prioritize taking their children for immunization, emphasizing that the vaccines are designed to protect against various diseases.
The new vaccines—pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and rotavirus vaccine—will be integrated into the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1974.
Health workers are being trained, and public awareness campaigns are underway to promote community acceptance and ensure wide coverage.
