The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday that more than a million doses of polio immunization earmarked for children had been destroyed in Sudan as a result of theft during the country’s recent uptick in violence.
According to Hazel De Wet, deputy director of the Office of Emergency Programmes, over a million doses of polio vaccine were taken and destroyed in South Darfur.
A polio epidemic at the end of 2022 spurred the organization to launch a series of vaccine campaigns in Sudan, which they were conducting at the time.
Polio, in its most severe form, may result in lifelong paralysis or even death in children under the age of five. Despite the fact that Africa was declared polio-free in 2020, imported cases have been discovered in Malawi, Mozambique, and Sudan in the previous year.
According to a World Health Organization database, there have been 28 attacks on healthcare facilities since the fighting began in Sudan last month, pitting Sudan’s army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The World Food Programme, which helps Sudanese refugees, estimated a loss of between $13 and $14 million in supplies due to theft
