Slow vaccination is a major concern

COVID19 vaccination in Juba is going on at a very slow speed, at the rate of [approximately] 700 people per day. So far, around 17,000 vaccines have been administered. Around 117,000 vaccines are still in Juba, expired vaccines not included. 

We’re left with less than 70 days to the expiry date of July 2021 (for the 132k vaccines donated by COVAX). If these vaccines expire, we will definitely loose trust of the donors and support of the international community.

We do not know if we will have the support to deliver the second dose. You and I know the government does not have money to buy vaccines. 

Currently, there are only 3 centres in Juba: Juba Teaching Hospital, Juba Military Hospital and Police Hospital. No single vaccine has gone to the states and administrative areas.

The Ministry of Heath has no plans to take the vaccines to the states because it has no money. It is depending, as always, on donors to support vaccine transportation and training of vaccinators at the state level.

The people in charge of this arrangement are very slow or clueless. They depend on NGOs to plan for them. This is embarrassing to the MOH. 

So far, some health organizations have expressed their interest to distribute vaccines to the states where they operate. MOH was not supportive of this idea. Why can’t MOH allow NGOs to help it transport vaccines to the states so we can have more health workers and people at risk vaccinated? 

If we don’t act now, there will be consequences. The vaccines will expire. Those who donated it will not be happy. They will not support us because we are not serious. People who will get vaccinated at the end of June will bit get their second jab. Citizens will lose hope in the MOH and donors will be upset with the government or the National Taskforce on COVID19 Response. 

You see, we already have a case with the international partners/donors regarding the expired AU/MTN vaccines.

The MOH announced publicly that it will destroy them but WHO says you can still use them for upto 3 months or wait for further instructions. At least the expired vaccines are not destroyed. They are in the stores, waiting on DFCA and WHO for technical advice. 

Way forward?

So what do we do now as a country? The following may remedy the situation: 

MOH should balance its cooperation with the in-country partners and the government (Presidency and COVID19 Taskforce). COVID19 pandemic is an international emergency and shouldn’t be the business of MOH alone.

The already existing Departments in the Ministry do not have COVID19 expertise and will be naive for MOH to just rely on them or assign their staff to control COVID19 response. This is why NGOs think MOH does not have capacity and they end up dominating every plan, execution and evaluation of every single project. 

 MOH should reach out to the top leadership of the country for urgent help. I mean the MOH should be transparent with the Presidency and the National Taskforce in what is needed now. 

MOH should seek UNMISS support to provide logistics, especially airlifting of COVID19 vaccines to the state capitals or other possible areas. UNMISS is here to help and will not hesitate to support in vaccine deployment. 

Taskforce should intensify meetings and engagement of COVID19 stakeholders to ensure the available vaccines are injected. Otherwise, there is no need to have the Taskforce that is relaxing when the MOH is left to struggle with limited resources and capacity. What can the Taskforce do better if it does not ensure people are vaccinated and protected against COVID19? 

The Presidency (or Cabinet) should summon the National Taskforce and MOH leadership to explain why the vaccination is very slow, vaccines are not taken to states and vaccinators are not vaccinated. 

The COVAX facility members should just complete what they’ve started—-ensuring people in South Sudan have equal access to COVID19 vaccines. Your hesitancy in fulfilling your promises is costing us a country. You know the country is not capable of buying a vaccine, you decided to help and now vaccines are not going anywhere to the intended people and again you leave everything to the government which you said is not capable of buying vaccines. Come on people! 

The Governors should start asking the MOH or central government as to why are vaccines not reaching their states/Administrative areas. Why are they silent anyway? They should be seen engaging implementing partners in their states and explore the possibilities of transporting vaccines allocated to their respective states/administrative areas. 

Civil society and activists should advocate for vaccines to reach the state level. Why are they silent now? Is health not part of the Himan rights? 

Let me end here and leave you to think and act now before it is too late. Each of us must play a role to avert this international crisis. Otherwise, South Sudan is going to remain the epicentre of coronavirus for many years.