Child receiving the R21 malaria vaccine - Photo credit: UNICEF

The Ministry of Health and its partners have launched the second phase of the malaria vaccination campaign in 52 counties across the country.

The campaign, launched on Tuesday, is targeting to vaccinate 324,571 children aged between 5 and 23 months. This phase is part of the drive that began in July 2024, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Gavi, and JSI.

In a statement shared with Eye Radio on Tuesday, Health Minister Sarah Cleto Rial said there has been a drop in the number of children receiving the vaccine in the second round compared to the first.

She emphasized the need for extra efforts such as tracing children who missed the vaccine and engaging communities more to boost uptake.

“This steep drop out in the first round of vaccinations and the increasing malaria-related deaths are concerning and highlight the urgent need for additional measures, including improved service delivery, defaulter tracking, community engagement, and follow-up mechanisms,” she said.

Malaria is the leading killer disease in South Sudan, claiming more than 4,000 lives and causing 5.5 million illnesses every year, according to the Ministry of Health.

A 2023 malaria indicator survey points to challenges such as poor access to treatment, limited use of insecticide-treated bed nets, and vaccine shortages as factors making the malaria situation worse.

As of August 2024, 503 health facilities across the country had received supplies of the R21 malaria vaccine, according to the health ministry.

The statement further revealed that while the first phase of the campaign achieved some success with the first dose coverage, it faced major challenges in ensuring children completed the full four-dose schedule.

Between July 2024 and May 2025, a total of 148,878 children received the first dose of the malaria vaccine.

In the first quarter of 2025, WHO delivered malaria commodities worth USD 356,221, enough to treat around 193,828 cases.