Yellow fever outbreak in W.E.S South Sudan. A Doctors Without Borders nurse attends to a patient suffering from measles at Gangura PHCC, a facility supported by Doctors Without Borders. The teams are responding to the yellow fever and measles outbreaks simultaneously by treating patients for both disease and supporting vaccination campaign for yellow fever. ©Isaac Buay/MSF
When my child fell sick, he was having high fever, diarrhoea and cough. While at home, I gave him Paracetamol but there was no improvement. We then brought him to the MSF facility where he received treatment for three days. If I didn’t come to the facility, I know my child was going to die.Victoria John, a mother
Measles has become a persistent emergency in South Sudan, with recurring outbreaks challenging healthcare systems and endangering communities. To respond to this emergency, Doctors Without Borders teams are treating measles in Nzara and Yambio Counties via Gangura and Sakure health centers, as well as at Yambio State Hospital. Our team intends to increase the number of beds for measles patients from 32 to 40 due to the rapidly increasing number of measle cases. Doctors Without Borders is also intervening into the community to look for children with potential measles symptoms and refer them to health facilities.
Twenty percent of children treated for measles at Doctors Without Borders-supported facilities are over the age of five, highlighting 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 immunization programme (EPI).
Overwhelmed by measles, the inpatient ward at Yambio general Hospital faces a critical situation, prompting concerns for the health of other young patients. Doctors Without Borders is supporting the isolation ward for treatment of measles patients. ©Isaac Buay/MSF
Individuals receive their doses of the yellow fever vaccine at vaccination posts strategically set up in markets and throughout the community in Yambio, fortifying defenses against the ongoing outbreak in Western Equatoria State. ©Isaac Buay/MSF
Excitement fills the air as children proudly exhibit their vaccination cards in Yambio, having taken a proactive step against yellow fever during the targeted campaign in Western Equatoria State. ©Isaac Buay/MSF
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, including three confirmed ones, 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 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 prevent any more outbreaks. South Sudan’s fragile health system cannot bear the burden of recurrent outbreaks.Zakaria Mwatia, head of mission
Low vaccination coverage in South Sudan has a significant impact on the population, particularly children, who are highly vulnerable to diseases such as measles which can lead to serious health complications and deaths. Given the gravity of the health threats posed by both measles and yellow fever, Doctors Without Borders 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 organisations, including WHO, intensify their efforts to expand vaccination coverage across the country and especially those areas most prone to disease outbreaks.Zakaria Mwatia, head of mission
