A measles outbreak is sweeping through Aweil North County in the proposed Lol State, Medair said in a press release last week.
“We heard of communities that were burying children every day who had died of measles and other preventable diseases,” said Alicia Morcombe, the Health Manager for Medair.
Medair said that food insecurity, drug shortages and long distances to walk to local health clinics are exacerbating the outbreak.
A recent World Food Programme report said that 5.3 million people in South Sudan face severe food shortage, and Northern Bahr El Ghazal is at a high risk.
Malnutrition severely compromises children’s defense against infectious diseases such as measles, which can push them over the edge with life-threatening complications, Medair said.
The Swiss relief agency says it has taken quick action to help contain the outbreak
“In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and County Health Department, and with support from local partners including Première Urgence Internationale, Doctors Without Borders and the World Health Organisation (WHO), we were able to launch the measles campaign in less than a week,” says Alicia Morcombe, Medair’s Health Manager.
“Just last week, more than 40 locally-recruited vaccination teams travelled village to village, all the way to the most remote communities, and vaccinated more than 48,000 children.”
Photos courtesy Medair