Khartoum: Sudan is now facing one of the world’s most severe vaccination crises, with the World Health Organization (WHO) confirming that the country has the lowest child vaccination coverage globally.
Before the civil conflict, Sudan maintained a vaccination rate above 90% for children. Today, that figure has plummeted to just 48%, not because of vaccine hesitancy but due to war-related devastation.
UNICEF reports that health workers have gone unpaid for months, while clinics have lost access to clean water and electricity, often due to destruction or looting. Collapsing supply chains have crippled the vital ‘cold chain’ needed to store vaccines safely, resulting in widespread wastage of doses and leaving thousands of children unprotected.
In 2023 alone, around 838,000 children in Sudan did not receive even a single vaccine, placing the country among the worst globally for ‘zero-dose’ children, behind only Nigeria and India. This gap leaves millions at risk of deadly but preventable diseases such as measles, diphtheria, and whooping cough.
UNICEF’s Chief of Health in Sudan, Dr. Tedbabe Degefie Hailegebriel, warns that children missing the first dose of essential vaccines often have no other contact with any working healthcare services.
Despite international humanitarian support, renewed fighting continues to disrupt aid and vaccine supply lines. Local community leaders say families must choose immediate needs like food and malaria medicine over immunizations as they try to survive.
The WHO estimates that more than 14 million infants worldwide remain unvaccinated, with conflict zones like Sudan among the worst affected. Global health agencies and humanitarian organizations are calling for urgent action to prevent further outbreaks and protect Sudan’s youngest generation from diseases that could rob them of a healthy future.
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