14 July 2015 - A second round of cholera vaccination kicked off in UNMISS Protection-of-Civilians (PoC) sites in Juba today, led by the World Health Organization and health partners.

According to vaccination teams in different protection sites, they were facing several challenges during the exercise, which will end on Friday.

Gatwich Bidit, a member of the vaccination team in PoC 1 Block D where 53 cases have been reported, the team was having difficulties carrying out effective mobilization.

“We have only one megaphone and we are sharing it with the vaccination team in Block B,” he said. “When it is their turn (to have the megaphone), we are left with nothing and cannot carry out mobilization.”

Wakene Badassa, a vaccination supervisor in PoC 2, said the turn out in the protection site was low for most of the day, making it necessary to keep the vaccination centre open till late.

“Many people in this PoC site are Muslims,” he explained. “They start fasting from morning up to evening so they can only come for vaccinations late in the evening when they break their fast and that is why we close the centre at 9 p.m.”

In PoC 3, vaccinator and team leader Dak Chance said women did not want to be vaccinated.

“Some women of reproductive age do not want to be vaccinated,” he said. “They say it causes them fever and diarrhea. When we tell them that the cholera vaccination does not cause fever, they become aggressive.”

Peter Reath, a vaccination centre team leader in PoC 3, said the majority of people receiving the vaccinations were children and elderly people. In the case of children, it was a challenge when they arrived unaccompanied by an adult.

“Children come alone here to be vaccinated,” he said. “When we ask them how old they are, they don’t know, while some come without their cards and we cannot tell whether the child has come for the first dose or the second dose.”

He added that some mothers do not want their children be to vaccinated. “Some mothers, after seeing their children have been vaccinated, rush to the centre and tell us that if their children die, they shall hold us accountable.”