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SOUTH SUDAN / POLIO
STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / POLIO
TRT: 2.38
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 25 MARCH - 1 APRIL 2012, JEBEL, SOUTH SUDAN
1. Various shots, vaccination campaign
2. Various shots, vaccinators loading equipment onto plane
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Moro Lokombo, Disc Jockey:
"Yes I am Moro Lokombo, and I do 'The Beat' program, that is the entertainment program on Radio Miraya and the program has been going on for a long time now. Most of the polio campaigns have been featuring on my show and there have been a lot of things we have been doing for the campaign.”
4. Various, vaccinators getting ready
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Christopher Yakobo, Chief Social Mobilizer, Central Equatorial State:
"These are the vaccinators, they are ready for operations. Carrying their vaccines carriers, ready to go to the various residential areas."
7. Close up, vaccines being distributed to volunteers
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Christopher Yakobo, Chief Social Mobilizer, Central Equatorial State:
"They volunteer because they are for the future of their children, because the children are the future of this country and they are growing so they will be the future leaders of this country."
9. Various shots, volunteer vaccinations
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Hannah Karaba, Jebel Team Supervisor:
"There is a lot of challenges exactly in this area. This area is not well demarcated, and you see the houses are very far and scattered so you will be going from one house to another house so the distance is very far and we will be going around those areas."
11. Various shots, vaccination campaign
12. Close up, UNICEF logo on campaign banner
13. Med shot, Polio campaign banner with all partner logos
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Representative, South Sudan:
"South Sudan is a place where children face so many risks. But over the years thanks to the efforts of community volunteers, the government, the support we have received from donors like government of Japan, Government of Canada, and importantly the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. A partnership of government of Rotary of WHO and UNICEF means that we haven't had a single case of polio in nearly three years. One less risk the children face here. But the risk continues, we have to remain vigilant, we have to make sure, that we get vaccination to the threee and a half million children every year, twice a year till we're absolutely sure, that polio is no longer a threat to the children of South Sudan."
15. Various shots, vaccines being loaded onto van
Since the polio eradication campaign began in South Sudan, the Ministry of Health together with UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and other partners have worked to ensure that the new nation remains polio free.
In the last two years this has been done through four rounds of supplementary polio immunization campaigns each year.
UNICEF is a key partner in providing vaccines and logistics as well as mobilizing communities to immunize children in South Sudan.
One of the great difficulties in running a campaign in South Sudan is safely storing the vaccines and transporting them across difficult and sometime impassable terrain.
More often than not the lack of infrastructure makes transporting the vaccines by road an impossible task.
The only way to ensure the vaccines arrive undamaged and un-spoilt by the extreme temperatures is to fly them from state to state.
This is a staging area for one of the campaign days, where volunteers receive the vaccines for distribution.
But the work actually begins with a preliminary mobilization campaign.
Daniel, the State Social Mobiliser took us to radio Miraya, which is run by the UN, to see how they get the word out.
SOUNDBITE (English) Moro Lokombo, Disc Jockey:
"Yes I am Moro Lokombo and I do ‘The Beat' program, that is the entertainment program on Radio Miraya and the program has been going on for a long time now. Most of the polio campaigns have been featuring on my show and there have been a lot of things we have been doing for the campaign.”
This pre-campaign mobilization means that by vaccination day people will make sure their kids are available for immunization.
SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Christopher Yakobo, Chief Social Mobilizer, Central Equatorial State:
"These are the vaccinators, they are ready for operations. Carrying their vaccines carriers, ready to go to the various residential areas."
Without the volunteers this campaign would not have happened. Daniel asked one of them why she had given her time.
SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Christopher Yakobo, Chief Social Mobilizer, Central Equatorial State:
"They volunteer because they are for the future of their children, because the children are the future of this country and they are growing so they will be the future leaders of this country."
The vaccinators are split into teams to cover as much ground as possible, but, it, is not an easy job.
SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Christopher Yakobo, Chief Social Mobilizer, Central Equatorial State:
"There is a lot of challenges exactly in this area. This area is not well demarcated, and you see the houses are very far and scattered so you will be going from one house to another house so the distance is very far and we will be going around those areas."
The government, UNICEF, W.H.O. and independent monitors are all involved in the monitoring and supervision of the campaign in a bid to keep South Sudan polio free.
Over the years thanks to the efforts of community volunteers, the government, the support from donors like government of Japan, Government of Canada, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and government partnerships with the Rotary Club, WHO and UNICEF meant that South Sudan hasn’t had a single case of polio in nearly three years.
But Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan says the country must remain vigilant,
SOUNDBITE (English) Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Country Representative, South Sudan:
“The risk continues, we have to remain vigilant, we have to make sure, that we get vaccination to the three and a half million children every year, twice a year till we're absolutely sure, that polio is no longer a threat to the children of South Sudan."
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