550 deaths, over 18,000 cholera cases recorded in Sudan since July, says UNICEF

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced that more than 550 deaths and 18,000 cases of cholera have been recorded in Sudan since the beginning of the outbreak in July. The UNICEF said it sent a plane to Sudan on Saturday carrying 1.4 million doses of oral cholera vaccines to Port Sudan to boost efforts to protect children from the current cholera outbreak, in addition to the 404,000 vaccines it had provided to Sudan last month. These campaigns aim to vaccinate 1.81 million people against cholera in the most affected states of Gedaref, Kassala and River Nile. UNICEF Sudan Representative Sheldon Yat said: "In a context of war, displacement and famine, the impact of these epidemics can be catastrophic for children. The delivery of vaccines to Sudan's health authorities and into the hands of the most vulnerable communities is essential to stop the spread of these deadly diseases." In addition to cholera, simultaneous epidemics of other diseases - such as dengue fever, malaria, and measles - are sp reading in at least 12 of Sudan's 18 states. Earlier, UNICEF delivered nearly 190,000 doses of the malaria vaccine to Sudan to help protect children from malaria. Source: Jordan News Agency