Lakes State government in Collaboration with partners launched Malaria and Measles 2nd does vaccine across lakes State on Wednesday.
The minister of cabinet affairs in Lakes State, Stephen Mathiang Deng, congratulate the national ministry of health and health partners for the roll out of the new malaria vaccine in Lakes State.
He said it is hard of the national government and the partners to see into it our children are protected because immunization is more important than the treatment.
“Let me assure our people you must know. Your government under the leadership of his excellency of the president Kiir Mayardit and the national ministry of health are concerned about your health”, he said.
He said in other countries there is no vaccine called a free vaccine like these vaccine you have to pay because there is no free vaccine.
“ When you go to Uganda, there is no where our people walk from village to village begging for children to be vaccinated. So, you must appreciate your government “, he said.
He said sometimes to come you will not be begged but it is you who will walk a long distance with your children to health facilities and get this services.
“ You are privilege in your country. So, let your children be vaccinated”, he said. “ Now, there is a prove those vaccines have a good results like polio vaccine and measles “.
He said all the health facilities across the State are full of children with cases of malaria and if children get vaccinated than that’s going to reduce the level of malaria.
He said the vaccine will not eliminate malaria completely but it is going to reduce the malaria with 70%and your child cannot die of malaria again.
“ When you take all these four doses, your body will be immune and it is our collective responsibility as the of the people of this State to make sure all the children under the age of 3-5 months are vaccinated”,he said
Dr. Ezekiel Mourwel Maker representative of the ministry of health in Lakes State said we have been making a lot of intervention as ministry of health by bringing patients who are suffering from malaria to the health facilities and by distributing insecticide mosquito net to prevent malaria infection, by creating awareness on how malaria can be prevented.
He said all these things have been supported but the infection rate for malaria cases is still very high .
” We need to protect children from malaria by giving vaccine. Let us all support this program like other activities that has been initiated by the ministry of health and health partners because our focus is to reduce malaria among the children and that’s why this vaccine has been given and this vaccine is effective with scientific evidence and it prevent the child after vaccination from getting malaria , apart from curative services”.
He said most of the time we do say prevention is better than cure and vaccine is given as part of preventive services.
Dr . Juma Santino Deng, EPI Manager Lakes State, said we are here today to launch malaria vaccine and measles vaccine second dose in our State
He said with malaria vaccine as we are all aware at different capacities it has been a struggle from all the scientists, the doctors and researchers but about 4 years ago researchers and scientists managed to invent malaria vaccine and last year in some parts of South Sudan Malaria vaccine was introduced.
” So, for us in the State. We are able to have a new vaccine, the malaria vaccine in our State in this particularly year of 2025 which I believe is a history and a great milestone in the field of immunization and preventive health among our children in the world and my country in particular “, he said
He said this program is very special because we stand and we received malaria vaccine which will help us if we give all the four doses to our children under 2 years of age and it will help reduce the infection rate of malaria in the level of 40% .
He said upto 40% malaria will be prevented among the children and it will also reduce complications of malaria about upto 30% and it will reduce the death rate in our State and the country upto 13% .
” This is one of the break through, we shall witness in our State and in country as a whole. How vaccine is going to help our children. It is going to reduce the infection and complications and the mortality among the children”, he said. ” It is going to tell us how serious malaria has been in the community. Currently as a technician, we witnessed in our ward for example, Kiir Mayardit women’s hospital and any other health facility.”
He said the ward are full right now with only admissions, and not infection, complicated cases of malaria and I still wish to give a small note overview of the data that we got from data department in the ministry.
He said from January 2025 until now we have 64,374 reported across the State and within this 64,374 cases reported from January to July without adding August we have 61 death cases reported already.
” Going back to remember, how this vaccine is going to help us .the vaccine we are launching today in our facility and to our community”, he said. ” By next year, we believe the 64,000 will reduce upto 1, 000 case for the whole year of 2026 and this is what I believe “.
Dr. Achai Deng Biong, interim State coordinator world health organization in Lakes State said today we are here for launch of malaria vaccine and the measles vaccine the second dose.
” I will start with history of malaria. All of us are aware of burden of malaria in Lakes, South Sudan and in sub Saharan Africa as a whole. Malaria has been a leading cause of mobility and mortality in our State and in our country”, she said. ” This malaria vaccine was qualified by world health organization ( WHO) in December,2023 and last year in July, we had introduction in 28 counties in South Sudan”.
She said this year we are having a scale up for the remaining 22 counties of which the 8 counties of Lakes State are part of it.
” So, what does it mean to have malaria vaccine. This vaccine is part of the comprehensive control strategy of prevention of malaria. It will not be a cure, but it will be a prevention. This mean that even when our children get vaccine and they get sick they still have to be taken to the health facilities to be diagnosed early and treated. Secondly, these children must still under treated mosquito insecticide mosquito net “, she said. ” In our environment, we have a rain coming down, we have to ensure that stagnant water is cleared, we have to ensure grasses around compound are cleared and this is a whole preventive control measure against malaria” He said this vaccine is what we called the R.21 vaccine that we are using now in South Sudan.
” It is available in all health facilities in Lakes State. This has been ensured by the State ministry of health with support from UNICEF. From world health organization WHO, as well as the implementing partners and that’s CUAAM “.
She said this vaccine is intramuscular injectable vaccine and it will be deployed in four doses. I need all the stakeholders because this is part of our commitments as the stakeholders of health as a community. We need to understand the dosage schedule for this vaccine such that after the launched, it is our role to go back to the communities to tell them who should come for the vaccine and what age group”.
She said this vaccine will be deployed as four doses.
” This first dose will be given to children, age 5 months, to 23 months and any child between that age group must receive the first dose to ensure that this child is fully protected . All these children must receive all four doses for maximum protection “.
She said the children will receive the rest of the doses according to schedule in South Sudan maybe after 5, 6 or 7 months and the fourth dose in the 18 months.
” The question is, how we going to implement this vaccine. It will not be a campaign. It will be part of the routine immunization schedule. The vaccine will be at all health facilities. Parents should take their children to this health facilities to receive this vaccine. In addition to the malaria vaccine, we have the second dose of the measles vaccine which will be received at 18 months “, she said. ” You know, measles has been a problem for us in Lakes State as well. Every now and then we see children, getting infected with measles. We have had first dose of the measles vaccine in our routine schedule which has been received at 9 months of age . Now, to improve on immunity, to raise up to the point we will able to attain how immunity. We have supported the State ministry of health at 18 months to the health facilities to receive the second dose. this is the only we may be able to kick measles out of Lakes State.”
She said our health you are at the Frontline you have been the one that is in direct contact with our community.