South Sudan has received 1.1 million doses of cholera vaccines as part of efforts to combat the ongoing cholera outbreak. The vaccines, supplied by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations , GAVI,  arrived in Juba .

UNICEF Immunisation Officer Gabriel Buom Tap explained that the cholera vaccine requires two doses for full efficacy.

However, a single dose can provide immunity within two weeks, lasting up to six months, while the second dose extends protection for up to three years.

The cholera outbreak, which began in October in a border town between Sudan and South Sudan, has now spread to six of South Sudan’s ten states. Vulnerable groups, including those displaced by flooding and refugees from Sudan, are particularly at risk.

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The government of South Sudan has reported over 100 deaths and more than 6,000 active cholera cases. Authorities are urging the health sector and relevant agencies to intensify their efforts to control the outbreak.

Yolanda Awel Deng, South Sudan’s Minister of Health, stressed the importance of raising public awareness and called on the media and civil society to help promote vaccination efforts.

Crediblenewsng.com