JUBA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan on Tuesday called for a concerted effort to increase immunization coverage across the country to protect children from vaccine-preventable diseases.
The Ministry of Health urged all communities, including traditional and religious leaders, institutions and partners, to extend vaccination to the second year of life, as immunization remains the most cost-effective public health intervention to prevent diseases.
"Unfortunately, routine vaccination coverage against these diseases remains low in South Sudan, leaving many children vulnerable to childhood illnesses. Therefore, the significance of vaccination campaigns cannot be overstated," Minister of Health Yolanda Awel Deng said in a joint statement issued in the national capital of Juba to mark the end of World Immunization Week.
Given the country's challenging context and suboptimal immunization coverage, South Sudan has experienced outbreaks of yellow fever, measles, and vaccine-derived poliovirus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). These, it said, were promptly responded to this year by the Ministry of Health.
Humphrey Karamagi, the WHO representative for South Sudan, said the WHO ensures that governments obtain the necessary guidance and technical support to implement high-quality immunization programs.
