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Sudan Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 13 | 25 June - 15 July 2018

Countries
Sudan
+ 1 more
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

HIGHLIGHTS

• 4.2 million children across Sudan will be vaccinated against polio through a national immunization campaign.

• About 900 people fled their homes in East Jebel Marra locality and have taken refuge in Golo town.

• In anticipation of above average rains this year the Flood Task Force was reactivated in late June to put in place a four-month flood contingency plan for the country.

• WFP has begun pre-positioning 84,590 Mt of food before roads become impassable due to rains

FIGURES 2018

# people in need in Sudan (2018 HNO)

5.5 million

# people in need in Darfur (2018 HNO)

3.1 million

GAM caseload (2018 HNO)

2.3 million

South Sudanese refugees – total 766,064
Pre-2013 352,212
Post-2013 413,852
(UNHCR 15 June 2018)

Other refugees and asylum seekers UNHCR (31 Jan 2018) 153,620

FUNDING

294 million US$ received in 2018

29.2% funded (FTS) as of 23 June 2018)

Sudan kicks off national polio immunization campaign to vaccinate 4.2 million children

At least 4.2 million children across Sudan are scheduled to be vaccinated against polio this year, to maintain the country's polio-free status. To this end, a national immunization campaign launched on 16 July is planned in two phases: the first, from 16-18 July, will target three million children under five years in 79 localities in 10 states across the country. Some 23,500 health workers will conduct house-to-house visits to administer the vaccine to children under five years to re-enforce immunity against the wild polio virus.

Supported by a number of key international health partners, critical immediate and longterm funding is required to ensure millions of children in Sudan receive life-saving interventions, including polio and routine immunizations. The Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) appeal to the wider international community to support their efforts to undertake this and other vaccination campaigns.

The last polio case in Sudan was reported in March 2009, and in 2015 the country’s polio-free status was announced by WHO. Even so, Sudan remains at risk of wild polio virus due to the large numbers of people—including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees—moving throughout the country, who are sometimes inadvertently left outside vaccination campaigns. Building a robust surveillance system for early disease detection is one of the greatest challenges in the Horn of Africa, where communities are dispersed over large swathes of difficult-to-reach territory.

“The Government of Sudan has committed itself to keep Sudan a polio-free meeting the international community’s goal. This is part of ensuring overall health security,” said Bahar Idris Abu Garda, the Sudan’s Minister of Health. “Our deep appreciation goes to the thousands of Sudanese health volunteers, the UN and other health partners, as well as the international community, for continuing their support for immunization services in Sudan.”

Keeping Sudan polio-free has been a priority for WHO, UNICEF, the Government, and the generosity of health partners such as the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, the Rotary International, and the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunization (GAVI), the Department for International Development (DFID)-United Kingdom, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.