For the second year in a row, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in Twic County, South Sudan, have supported the Ministry of Health in administering malaria vaccinations in the village of Mayen Abun.
Together, our teams are implementing malaria prevention measures such as mass drug administration (MDA), which is entails treating an entire at-risk population to prevent infection and transmission.
Malaria remains a leading cause of illness and death among children in South Sudan. The country faces malaria outbreaks every year, which have worsened due to factors such as flooding, poverty, and a fragile health system. Despite the predictable recurrence of malaria peaks, immunization coverage remains inadequate, contributing to overcrowded health facilities and an unbroken cycle of severe cases.
“When the MDA started, I took my five children and got the drugs to prevent malaria,” says Adior Manut, who is from Turalei camp for displaced people in Mayen Abun, Twic. “None of them got sick. I really appreciate that because I can’t imagine what my children would have been like if they hadn’t received this, how they could have suffered from malaria.”
Multiple rounds to protect children’s health
During malaria peaks between May 2023 and October 2024, MSF launched seven rounds of the MDA campaign in the village of Mayen Abun to children aged 3 months to 15 years old, with the goal of strengthening immunity and reducing malaria cases among young children.
By the end of October 2024, the team reached a total of 18,700 children with these preventive measures.
“If we compare before and after MSF started bringing malaria drugs, there is a big difference,” says Arual Manyok. “All the children who received the drugs haven’t had malaria again. It is only the children who did not receive them who are getting sick.”
In July 2024, South Sudanese authorities introduced the R21 malaria vaccine for existing malaria patients in high-burden areas such as Twic County, with MSF supporting the Ministry of Health to roll out the vaccine for children aged 5 to 24 months old.
Malaria cases dropped significantly
As a result of the preventive measures put in place, MSF recorded a drop in malaria cases: from 79 percent between May to October in 2022, to 70 percent in the same period in 2024.
“The decrease in malaria cases and severe admissions in 2024 clearly shows that malaria preventive measures like MDA prevention rounds or the malaria vaccine response by the Ministry of Health can effectively provide protection and interrupt the disease cycle in our target pediatric population,” says Dr. Mohamed Bashir, MSF project medical referent in Twic.
Community involvement contributes to success
The results of MSF’s malaria prevention intervention were made possible by the active involvement of the community. MSF worked with health promotion teams, local volunteers, and leaders to raise awareness of malaria prevention and ensure that the most vulnerable children are protected.
Despite the clear, positive results of proactive prevention interventions in Twic County, lack of preparedness remains a concern in several regions of the country. Recurrent malaria outbreaks continue to occur in overcrowded health facilities across South Sudan.
“Health organizations should invest in more robust prevention and emergency response,” says Dr. Bashir. “The success we’ve seen in Mayen Abun shows that malaria is preventable with the right tools.”
