Geneva, 19 May 2026 (SUNA) – The Federal Minister of Health, Haitham Ibrahim, announced on Tuesday from Geneva that Sudan has succeeded in reducing nearly half of the national burden of children who had received no vaccinations within just two years, despite the conditions imposed by the rebellion of the terrorist Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.  The announcement came during the minister’s participation in a side event of the 79th World Health Assembly dedicated to the issue of “zero-dose children” under the theme: “No Excuses! Reaching the Most Vulnerable Children in an Age of Disruption.” The event was organized by Save the Children in cooperation with Sudan and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) as part of the ongoing assembly activities in Geneva.  The minister explained that Sudan had carried one of the world’s highest burdens of unvaccinated children, with more than 1.2 million children missing vaccinations, most of them concentrated in Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Al-Gezira states, due to the destruction caused by the rebellion to health facilities, the displacement of millions, and disruptions in vaccine supply chains. He noted that Sudan launched the “Catch-Up Vaccination Initiative” in 2024, internationally known as “The Big Catch-Up,” in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Save the Children, GAVI, and a number of international and national organizations. He added that by May 2026, Sudan had vaccinated around 450,000 children and achieved coverage exceeding 90 percent in nine out of the 17 states targeted by the campaign. The minister affirmed that this success was achieved through integrating vaccination services into the broader humanitarian response, engaging local communities and leaders, and shifting from fixed-site models to mobile field teams capable of reaching displaced populations in crisis areas. At the same time, he warned that declining international funding could threaten these gains, calling on the international community to adopt sustainable and flexible financing mechanisms that combine urgent humanitarian response needs with long-term health system development goals. “Reaching these children is not merely a vaccination issue, but a matter of dignity, justice, and protecting the future of every child,” the minister said, stressing that no child in Sudan should be left without vaccination.BH/BH