By Taban Gabriel
The State Governor of Eastern Equatoria State, Luis Lobong Lojore, said his State rolled out the “Controversial” malaria vaccine in 7 counties despite public outcry regarding the World Health Organization (WHO) approved vaccine.
“We have been receiving a lot of complaints from the communities and around, that why did we allow the vaccination of malaria vaccine in Eastern Equatoria State?” Governor Lobong said
Lobong, in his 8th Governor’s forum remark, defended his state’s decision while attributing it to the resolutions of the Council of Ministers.
“We had a meeting in the Council of Ministers, what do we do with these complaints because people are saying the vaccine is not good, but we said since it has been passed by the national government, what do we do, and so this the what happened” he added
Despite the “autonomous” decision of the government to roll out the vaccine, Governor Lobong acknowledged the frustration of the citizens in his State about the malaria vaccine.
“People are not happy about this vaccine, and for us as lay people, we don’t know”
The First Vice President, Doctor Riak Machar, the moderator of the ongoing Governor’s forum, interjected and enquired whether the vaccine is globally recognized, a question Governor Lobong didn’t respond to immediately.
The governor, in his key presentations, further highlighted some of the achievements accomplished by the Eastern Equatoria State government
“We conducted a mass drug administration campaign (MDA) for the prevention of Elephantiasis, which targeted 1,019,96; we conducted Last Mile drug distribution to all Health Facilities and launched a measles campaign in Kapoeta East County,” he elaborated.
on the Economic Cluster, the Eastern Equatoria State renovated the State assembly, which includes the construction of the Assembly Hall with support from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and rehabilitated roads linking the State headquarters with other counties and pajamas.
Malaria vaccines are used to prevent malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that affects millions of people each year. The first approved malaria vaccine is RTS, S, also known by the brand name Mosquirix. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended RTS, S for widespread use in 2021. A second vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, was approved by the WHO in 2023
The vaccine is typically given in four doses to children starting around five months old. A fifth dose may be given one year after the fourth dose in areas with a significant risk of malaria
Governor Lobong, in his statement, however, did not specify which off-vaccine type was rolled out in Eastern Equatoria.