The Federal Ministry of Health of Sudan, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), kicked off a 4-day house-to-house polio vaccination campaign in White Nile State, Sudan, on 11 November 2024. The 4-day campaign in all 9 localities aims to vaccinate approximately 648 300 children under 5 years against polio.

“After months of meticulous planning, we are proud to launch this vital polio vaccination campaign across the 9 localities of White Nile State, aiming to safeguard our children against the ongoing polio outbreak. I commend the unwavering dedication of our health workers, whose efforts are central to this mission, and I encourage them to persevere in ensuring that every child is reached in White Nile with the nOPV vaccine,” said Sudan’s Federal Minister of Health Dr Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim Awadallah.

The vaccination campaign is part of the comprehensive response to tackle the outbreak since variant poliovirus was detected in Red Sea State in January 2024. It builds on campaign rounds conducted in the accessible but high-risk states in Sudan earlier this year.