The Lakes State health ministry, in collaboration with partners in Rumbek, on Thursday launched an elephantiasis and onchocerciasis (OV) vaccination campaign targeting over one million people in the six counties of Rumbek Central, Rumbek North, Cueibet, Rumbek East, Yirol West, and Yirol East.
The 14-day vaccination campaign will be carried out by 2,286 staff across the state.
Rumbek Central County Medical Officer Manyiel Gol told Radio Tamazuj on Thursday that the exercise will involve community drug distribution and that vaccination officers will move door to door.
“Our people have complied with the drugs, and everyone is likely to take this medicine, including me. We are taking these drugs, even you journalists must take them,” he said. “Since the vaccination was launched, there is no report that people are experiencing side effects, which is good news because our people sometimes ask if medicines have side effects.”
He said some people, especially in cattle camps, have not heard about the vaccination exercise, and that some say they cannot take medicine when they are not sick.
“The people are supposed to take it so that they cannot develop sickness, and this is the reason for this medicine. It is not given to a person who is sick,” Gol explained. “All of us are not sick of elephantiasis or onchocerciasis, but they are given to people for prevention just like vaccines are given to children under 5 years.”
The Director General at the Lakes State Ministry of Health, Maker Malok, said the exercise is a mass drug administration (MDA), meaning all people are going to be given a medicine for onchocerciasis and elephantiasis.
“The target population in these six counties is 1,170,244. These people are going to be treated within a period of 14 days. Wulu County already had a MDA in April,” he stated. “We will then move to Awerial County after finishing with the six counties because we have to administer three medicines for onchocerciasis, elephantiasis, and bilharzia there at the same time.”
According to Malok, the medicines are administered based on the height of a person, and pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers who gave birth a week before, very sick people, and children under 5 years of age are excluded from receiving the medicines.