By Yang Ater Yang
The Lakes State Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the national Ministry of Health, UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and other health partners, has launched a polio vaccination campaign targeting 367,774 children aged below five years across the state’s eight counties.
The campaign, launched at Matangai Primary Health Care Centre in Rumbek Central County, aims to protect children aged zero to 59 months from polio under the theme “Reaching Every Child—No Child Left Unvaccinated.”
The campaign is administering bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) and novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to prevent the spread of the disease.
Speaking during the launch, Lakes State Caretaker Governor Gen. Rin Tueny Mabor urged parents and caregivers to ensure that all eligible children receive the vaccines.
He said vaccination was essential to preventing polio, a disease that can cause permanent paralysis in children, and called on communities to make routine immunisation a priority.
“We want to raise awareness in the community that when a child is born, the child has to be taken to the hospital to receive vaccines or medicine that can prevent diseases and help the child survive into the future,” Mabor said.
He encouraged parents to cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure that no child was missed during the campaign.
The governor also called for an end to intercommunal violence following recent fighting in Matangai Payam on October 8 and 9.
Mabor said the clashes were undermining the safety and survival of children, women, older people, and other vulnerable members of the community.
“I want this intercommunal fighting to stop and allow an investigation into what caused it,” he said, adding that his administration was committed to restoring peace and ensuring that those responsible for unlawful killings faced the law.
The state’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation manager, Dr. Juma Santino Deng, said approximately 2,000 personnel had been trained and deployed to support the campaign across Lakes State.
He said the workforce included vaccinators and supervisors at payam, county, state, and national levels.
According to Deng, each vaccination team is expected to reach 250 children daily.
He urged mothers and caregivers to cooperate with vaccination teams, describing the vaccines as safe and essential for protecting children against polio.
Deng also reported that South Sudan had confirmed approximately 22 polio cases, underscoring the need to strengthen vaccination efforts and prevent further transmission.
Rebecca Lou Muorwel, a resident of Matangai Payam, welcomed the campaign and encouraged mothers to take their children for immunisation.
She said the local primary healthcare facility was providing treatment for children with malaria and other infections and urged parents to seek medical care whenever their children became ill.
Kockedhie Mabor, a national supervisor for the campaign in Lakes State, said supervisors would monitor vaccination activities, assess community mobilisation and verify that children were reached both at household level and in other locations.
She said radio programs and other awareness activities had been conducted to inform residents about the campaign.
UNICEF Nutrition Officer Okot Morris commended the state government, health workers, community leaders, and partners for supporting efforts to protect children from preventable diseases.
He urged parents to ensure that all children under five received the vaccines, emphasising that the service was safe, effective, and free of charge.
“Reaching every eligible child with the polio vaccine is both a priority and an urgent responsibility,” Morris said.
He also called on chiefs, religious leaders, youth groups, and community volunteers to mobilise families and encourage full participation in the campaign.
Morris said UNICEF would continue working with the government and other partners to strengthen immunisation services, community engagement, and disease prevention.
The campaign seeks to achieve high vaccination coverage across all eight counties and Payams and villages in Lakes State, with health authorities urging communities to cooperate with vaccination teams to ensure that no eligible child is left unprotected.