Jebel Marra, April 22 (Darfur24)
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced on Wednesday that its teams, in coordination with Sudan’s Ministry of Health, vaccinated about 56,000 children in areas south of Jebel Marra in Central Darfur during an emergency campaign conducted between April 1 and 6.
The campaign was launched in response to a surge in measles cases across the region earlier this year, driven by disruptions to routine immunization programs due to conflict, displacement, limited access, and vaccine shortages, the organization said.
In a statement, MSF highlighted the severe logistical challenges faced by its teams in reaching remote communities.
“In the absence of roads and due to the rugged terrain in these areas, vaccines were transported on camels, while health teams traveled by donkeys across the mountains to reach isolated villages,” the organization said.
“The teams moved from village to village to ensure that all children were included and none were overlooked, despite the significant logistical challenges,” it added.
MSF said the campaign achieved a 97 percent coverage rate of its target, helping to curb the spread of measles in one of Sudan’s most hard-to-reach regions.
Large parts of Darfur continue to face a growing measles outbreak among children, with health workers attributing the spread to the suspension of routine vaccination campaigns in recent years due to the ongoing conflict.
Meanwhile, a separate measles vaccination campaign was launched on Monday in South Darfur State with support from UNICEF, targeting more than 1.4 million children aged between nine months and 14 years across 15 localities. UNICEF said the campaign is expected to expand to North and East Darfur in the coming weeks.