The World Health Organization has announced a campaign to provide cholera vaccines for nearly 140,000 people living in camps across South Sudan.

The vaccines come from an emergency stockpile managed by WHO, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and UNICEF.

“It is the first time the stockpile, created in 2013 by WHO, is being activated. Although currently there is not a cholera outbreak, people displaced by the recent conflict and living in the camps are at risk due to poor sanitary conditions and overcrowding,” the health agency explained in a press statement.

The campaign kicked off last Saturday in Minkamen targeting 94,000 people, with efforts also beginning in camps based in Juba, covering an additional 43,000 people.

“Two doses of vaccine are required for an individual to be protected. The campaign begins with an initial round of vaccinations followed by - after a required 14 day interval - a second round of doses, which will complete the vaccination. For such a campaign to be effective, it is vital that a second dose is administered and this factor has led to the decision to begin with Minkaman, Awerial County, and Juba camps,” said WHO.

“Minkaman camp in Awerial County and Juba camp have been selected because of the relative stability of the situation and easier access in those places,” says Dr Abdinasir Abubakar, from WHO’s Disease Surveillance and Response team, in South Sudan.

“We are also looking at other camps, and once the accessibility and security improves, we will expand the cholera vaccination campaigns into these areas. We will be reviewing the situation day by day,” he said.

File photo: Oral cholera vaccination in South Sudan's Maban County, January 2013 (MSF/Corinne Baker)