3.3 million small arms, sleeves rolled up: South Sudan's polio teams reach most of a nation

Across South Sudan, vaccination teams have been going door to door and village to village with a big job: protect about 3.9 million children under five against polio. The health ministry, backed by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and partners, is giving two kinds of oral polio vaccine to stop the spread of vaccine-derived poliovirus found in the country this year. Despite formidable logistics, more than 3.3 million children — 84% of the national target — have already received both vaccines. A second round follows this month, aiming for the children the first round missed.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: institutional program