More than 1 million polio vaccines destroyed by violence in Sudan: UN

Khartoum:

More than 1 million polio vaccines intended for children have been destroyed as a result of looting in Sudan amid the spike in violence since April, UN children’s organization UNICEF told Reuters on Friday.

“A number of cold chain facilities were looted, damaged and destroyed, including over a million polio vaccine stores in south Darfur,” Hazel De Wet, deputy director of UNICEF’s Office of Emergency Programs, said in an email to Reuters.

The agency found itself in the midst of a series of polio vaccination campaigns in Sudan following an outbreak in late 2022.

Polio, a disease that primarily affects children under the age of 5, can lead to paralysis and death. Africa was declared wild polio-free in 2020, but Malawi, Mozambique and Sudan have reported imported cases since last year.

A World Health Organization database shows that since the conflict broke out last month there have been 28 attacks on health facilities in Sudan, pitting the Sudanese army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Numerous humanitarian organizations have reported looting during the Sudan crisis, including the World Food Programme, which said it lost $13-14 million worth of supplies.

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