First vaccines in nearly three years reach besieged children in South Kordofan

For the first time since July 2023, vaccines have arrived in South Kordofan state in south-central Sudan — a breakthrough for thousands of children who have been left unprotected against deadly diseases while conflict and a prolonged siege blocked all medical supplies, Save the Children said. Two trucks carrying 18 metric tons of 11 routine vaccines reached Kadugli town this weekend, in a delivery funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

South Kordofan has been one of the hardest-hit corners of Sudan’s catastrophic war. The siege that cut off the state from humanitarian supplies left children dangerously exposed to preventable diseases at a time when malnutrition and displacement were already pushing their bodies to the limit. Famine was confirmed in Kadugli in September 2025, compounding a public health situation that had been deteriorating for years. The shipment includes vaccines against tuberculosis, polio, measles, yellow fever, meningitis, rotavirus, pneumonia and five other deadly childhood diseases.

More than 24,500 children across five localities — Kadugli, AlReif Alshargi, Aldalang, Habila and Al Goos — are set to receive routine vaccinations this year, alongside nearly 6,000 women who will receive the tetanus vaccine. Save the Children works alongside the Ministry of Health, UNICEF and consortium partners to run immunisation services across 38 fixed health facilities, 52 outreach sites and six mobile teams in the state.

“This vaccine delivery is a breakthrough for thousands of children and mothers who have endured months without reliable access to food and basic health services,” said Dr. Bashir Kamal Eldin, Health & Nutrition Director of Save the Children in Sudan.

He welcomed the improved access but cautioned that the situation remains extremely fragile, warning that without sustained peace and guaranteed humanitarian access, these gains could quickly be reversed.

Save the Children and its partners are now working to strengthen routine immunisation systems and track down children who missed vaccinations during the siege, while continuing to call on all parties to ensure that humanitarian corridors remain open and that children are not once again cut off from the care that keeps them alive.