Urgent vaccination campaign needed to halt deadly measles outbreak in South Sudan

Twenty per cent of children treated for measles at MSF-supported facilities are over the age of five. This highlights the need for a reactive vaccination campaign to reach this group of older children who did not receive measles vaccinations as part of the existing expanded immunisation programme.

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, 81 cases of yellow fever and six deaths have been recorded.

The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with WHO, launched a yellow fever vaccination campaign, immunising around 357,000 people across three counties of Western Equatoria state. The campaign resulted in a reduction in the numbers of 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 any more outbreaks,” says Zakaria Mwatia, MSF head of mission. “South Sudan’s fragile health system cannot bear the burden of recurrent outbreaks.”