South Sudan rolls out second phase of COVID-19 Vaccination

JUBA, JANUARY 29^th 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan on Saturday rolled out the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination targeting more than 2.4 million people across the country after securing at least 3.9 million vaccine doses of Johnson & Johnson’s.

Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, Vice President for Service Cluster, minister of health Yolanda Awel Deng Juach, and Fabian Ndenzako, World Health Organization representative were among those who received their second booster shots in Juba on Saturday.

“It is a distinct honor to be among you today to launch this campaign for COVID-19 vaccination, this shows our full commitment toward COVID-19 response in the republic of South Sudan,” said Abdelbagi during the launching ceremony on Saturday.

Yolanda Awel Deng, Minister of Health said the vaccine is safe and effective for all people within South Sudan.

“The vaccine is safe and effective for all people within South Sudan. Get vaccinated and tell your family and friends to get vaccinated too,” said Awel.

“These extra resources will enable South Sudan to strengthen its health system preparedness and help address the urgent health and nutrition needs.”

Dr. Fabian Ndenzako, WHO Representative for South Sudan said since the start of the first vaccination campaign in April 2021, the country has made significant progress in scaling up vaccination.

“The provision of COVID-19 vaccines to the people of South Sudan contributes to the equitable access to vaccines that are required to effectively respond to this pandemic.”

Firas Raad, Country Manager of World Bank Group said they have provided additional finance to help the government address health challenges.

“It will also strengthen South Sudan’s disease surveillance systems, laboratory capacity, and overall emergency preparedness at the national and sub-national levels.”

South Sudan has so far vaccinated over 2 million people after rolling out its first phase of mass vaccination in April 2021.

The country has received a cumulative total of 3.95 million doses of AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson vaccines.