Juba, Jan 11
South Sudan's health ministry said that it has rolled out a week-long campaign aimed at vaccinating more than 300,000 people against cholera in Rubkona, a hotspot county in Unity State.
The ministry said the campaign, backed by the World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund, Medecins Sans Frontieres and various other partners, is an important step to curb the ongoing outbreak and brings the total number of counties where the vaccination campaign has been conducted to four nationwide.
South Sudan's Vice President for Service Cluster Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, who spoke during the launch, expressed the government's commitment to fully combat the outbreak and ensure effective measures are implemented to stop the spread of the disease.
"The rollout of the cholera vaccine nationwide is part of the broader government efforts aimed at combating the cholera outbreak and saving lives," Akol said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
According to the statement, Rubkona County is one of the 31 hotspot areas experiencing cholera outbreaks, accounting for 50 percent of reported cases. The campaign also aims to protect vulnerable populations from severe diarrheal disease.