Recovering from a yellow fever outbreak
The measles outbreak is a double blow for a region still struggling to deal with yellow fever after the most recent outbreak—the fourth in just six years—was declared by health authorities in December 2023. As of mid-March, 78 suspected cases and three confirmed cases were recorded, causing six deaths. In collaboration with WHO, the Ministry of Health launched a yellow fever vaccination campaign, immunizing around 357,000 people across three counties in Western Equatoria state. The campaign resulted in a reduction in suspected and confirmed cases, a testament to the efficacy of mass vaccination campaigns.
“Large-scale vaccination campaigns are vital—both in Western Equatoria state and Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, where the current measles outbreaks are ongoing—to halt further spread of the disease and prevent more outbreaks,” said MSF head of mission Zakaria Mwatia. “South Sudan’s fragile health system cannot bear the burden of recurrent outbreaks.”
Low vaccination coverage in South Sudan has a significant impact on the population, particularly children, who are highly vulnerable to diseases such as measles that can lead to serious health complications and deaths. Given the gravity of the health threats posed by both measles and yellow fever, MSF calls for increased efforts to raise community awareness about the diseases and to adopt best practices to stop them from spreading.
“It is imperative that the Ministry of Health and other health organizations, including WHO, intensify their efforts to expand vaccination coverage across the country and especially in areas most prone to disease outbreaks,” urged Mwatia.
