South sudan polio slideshow

In December 2011, South Sudan celebrated five months of independence from
Sudan – achieved on 9 July 2011. But scars left by a decades-long civil war are
still evident: widespread chronic food insecurity; acute malnutrition, exceeding
20 per cent in certain areas; severely limited access to basic services, including
health care, improved sources of drinking water and sanitation facilities; and
high rates of under-five and maternal mortality. Immunization coverage also
remains low.
More than two years have passed since the last case of polio was reported in
what is now South Sudan. But the country’s proximity to the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and Chad – both of which have suffered from imported
wild poliovirus for over a year – leaves South Sudanese children at continued
risk of the disease.
United Nations organizations, including UNICEF and the World Health
Organization (WHO), together with other partners, are supporting the
Government’s efforts to keep the country polio-free. In 2011, over 3 million
under-five children were vaccinated against polio in each of four immunization
campaigns.

Michael Goo, Manager of the
Expanded Programme on
Immunization (EPI) in Unity State,
holds three vials of oral polio vaccine,
in the state’s vaccine storage facility, in
the town of Bentiu. Storage facilities
play a critical role in preserving the
‘cold chain’, the series of temperature
controls required to maintain vaccine
potency from manufacture through
inoculation. The EPI was created in
1974 by WHO, working with UNICEF,
governments and other partners, to
ensure that children in all countries
benefit from vaccines.

Image UNI122537: © UNICEF/NYHQ2011-2450/Sokol

A worker carries insulated shipping
containers, filled with polio vaccines,
to a truck bound for the airport, in the
Unity State vaccine storage facility, in
the town of Bentiu. The vaccines will
then be transported to remote
locations via airplane. Insulated
shipping containers and vaccine
storage facilities play a critical role in
preserving the ‘cold chain’, the series
of temperature controls required to
maintain vaccine potency from
manufacture through inoculation.


Workers unload insulated shipping
containers, filled with polio vaccines,
from a cargo plane, at Aweil Airport, in
the town of Aweil, Northern Bahr el
Ghazal State. Several hours before, the
vaccines were transferred from a
vaccine storage facility, in Juba, the
capital. Insulated shipping containers
and vaccine storage facilities play a
critical role in preserving the ‘cold
chain’, the series of temperature
inoculation.


Children watch workers unload
insulated shipping containers, filled
with polio vaccines, from a cargo
plane, at the Aweil Airport, in
Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. Several
hours before, the vaccines were
transferred from a vaccine storage
facility, in Juba, the capital. Insulated
shipping containers and vaccine
storage facilities play a critical role in
preserving the ‘cold chain’, the series
of temperature controls required to
manufacture through inoculation.


Carrying a cold box filled with polio
vaccines, vaccinator Nyaluak Tebuom,
14, passes other travellers on a dirt
road as he journeys to Pakur Village, in
Unity State. Nyaluak must walk more
than 10 kilometres on the road, which
is laden with anti-tank mines, to
administer the vaccines to the village’s
children. Cold boxes play a critical role
in preserving the ‘cold chain’, the
series of temperature controls
required to maintain vaccine potency
from manufacture through
inoculation.


(Foreground) traditional dancers, who
are serving as social mobilizers for the
Ministry of Health and UNICEF, wave
from the back of a pickup truck, in
Juba, the capital. They are raising
awareness of the importance of
immunizing children against polio. A
procession of people on ‘boda-bodas’
(bicycle taxis) follows them.


A procession of people on ‘boda-
bodas’ (bicycle taxis) rides on a dirt
road, in Juba, the capital. Preceding
them, traditional dancers, serving as
social mobilizers for the Ministry of
Health and UNICEF, wave from the
back of a pickup truck; they are raising
awareness of the importance of
immunizing children against polio.


Traditional dancers, who are serving as
social mobilizers for the Ministry of
Health and UNICEF, perform for
community members, in Juba, the
capital. They are raising awareness of
the importance of immunizing children
against polio.


(Second from right) Chief Chirilo Mayik
Madut speaks with vaccinators on
their arrival at the Chilak Returnee
Centre, in the town of
Rubkona, Rubkona County, Unity State.
One of the vaccinators is carrying a
cold box filled with polio vaccines. Cold
boxes play a critical role in preserving
the ‘cold chain’, the series of
temperature controls required to
manufacture through inoculation. The
centre – run by the Government with
support from UNICEF and other
partners – provides basic
services, including water, health care
and nutritional aid, to returnees who
fled during the civil war.

(Left-right) Social mobilizer Dor Gawar
and vaccinator Nyakuoth Chuol, 15,
speak with Aluk Chol, holding her 2-
year-old son, Mayol Deng, outside her
home, in the Chilak Returnee Centre,
in the town of Rubkona, Unity State.
Nyakuoth is carrying a cold box filled
with polio vaccines. Cold boxes play a
critical role in preserving the ‘cold
chain’, the series of temperature
inoculation. The centre – run by the
Government with support from
UNICEF and other partners – provides
basic services, including water, health
care and nutritional aid, to returnees
who fled during the civil war.

One-month-old Monyaguek Mayen is
held by his mother while receiving a
dose of oral polio vaccine, in the Chilak
Returnee Centre, in the town of
Rubkona, Unity State. Children need
multiple rounds of the vaccine to
ensure immunity. The centre – run by
the Government with support from


Vaccinator Nyakuoth Chuol, 15,
administers a dose of oral polio
vaccine to Malakal Bolinth, held by his
mother, Apol Maror, inside their home,
in the Chilak Returnee Centre, in the
town of Rubkona, Unity State. Children
need multiple rounds of the vaccine to
ensure immunity. The centre – run by
the Government with support from


A vaccinator records the number of
children who have been immunized
against polio by a vaccination team, in
Juba, the capital. Each team is
assigned to visit approximately 100
households.


South sudan polio slideshow

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