A measles crisis is mounting in South Sudan's Western Equatoria state, just as health authorities struggle to overcome a yellow fever outbreak. Since February, seven deaths among children under five and 460 cases have been recorded as of 24 March in three health facilities in Yambio and Nzara counties; 90 per cent of these children had never been vaccinated against the disease.
Measles has become a persistent emergency in South Sudan, with recurring outbreaks challenging healthcare systems and endangering communities. More than 12,000 cases have been recorded this year; more than 400 cases were recorded last week alone. 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.
"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."