Cholera vaccination campaign begins in Sudan
The Sudanese ministry of health on Saturday said a cholera vaccination campaign targeting more than 1.4 million people kicked off in eastern and northern parts of the country.
"A round of response to the ongoing outbreak of cholera was launched this [Saturday] morning in three states, including the River Nile [in northern Sudan], Kassala, and Gedaref [in eastern Sudan]," it said in a statement.
The campaign aims to vaccinate 1 407 546 people aged one year and above and will continue until Thursday, it said.
"The campaign is one of the interventions to reduce the disease burden and the degree of risk, which limits both infections and deaths," Amal Mahmoud, a representative of the ministry's healthcare department, said.
Meanwhile, Ismail Al-Adani, director of the expanded programme on immunisation at the ministry, said more doses of cholera vaccine will arrive on Thursday.
The ministry said on 5 October that it had received 1.4 million doses of the cholera vaccine provided by the international organisation GAVI, the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).
Sudan has been ravaged by a deadly conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces starting in mid-April 2023. Since the outbreak of the conflict, epidemic diseases such as cholera, malaria, measles and dengue fever have spread, leading to hundreds of deaths.
The Sudanese health ministry has so far reported 25 037 cases of cholera and 702 related deaths.
On Friday, Unicef warned on social media platform X that 3.1 million people, including 500 000 children under five, are at risk of cholera in Sudan.
"A round of response to the ongoing outbreak of cholera was launched this [Saturday] morning in three states, including the River Nile [in northern Sudan], Kassala, and Gedaref [in eastern Sudan]," it said in a statement.
The campaign aims to vaccinate 1 407 546 people aged one year and above and will continue until Thursday, it said.
"The campaign is one of the interventions to reduce the disease burden and the degree of risk, which limits both infections and deaths," Amal Mahmoud, a representative of the ministry's healthcare department, said.
Meanwhile, Ismail Al-Adani, director of the expanded programme on immunisation at the ministry, said more doses of cholera vaccine will arrive on Thursday.
The ministry said on 5 October that it had received 1.4 million doses of the cholera vaccine provided by the international organisation GAVI, the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).
Sudan has been ravaged by a deadly conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces starting in mid-April 2023. Since the outbreak of the conflict, epidemic diseases such as cholera, malaria, measles and dengue fever have spread, leading to hundreds of deaths.
The Sudanese health ministry has so far reported 25 037 cases of cholera and 702 related deaths.
On Friday, Unicef warned on social media platform X that 3.1 million people, including 500 000 children under five, are at risk of cholera in Sudan.
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