Fyffes support the children of South Sudan with over 250,000 polio vaccinations.
For every Freddy Fyffes banana pack purchased Fyffes will donate a polio vaccine to a child in South Sudan.
Polio is a crippling virus which mainly affects children under 5 years old. It attacks the nervous system causing vicious spasms which can lead to disability or sometimes death.
The good news is that polio can be prevented with a simple vaccine. Just 3 drops on the tongue and a child is protected for life.
Donncha O’Callaghan vaccinates 5 month old Juma John in a UNICEF health centre. Photo : Mark Condren, Juba, South Sudan 2015.
South Sudan has been ravaged by war since December 2013. Over 2.2 million people have fled their homes. Over half of these are children. 200,000 are currently seeking shelter in protection of civilian camps.
Over 2.2 million people have fled their home because of the war. Over half of them are children. Photo : Mark Condren, Protection of Civilian Camp, South Sudan, September 2015.
Conditions in the camps are cramped, intense and hot. There is a lack of clean water and basic sanitation. Basic health care is even more important to prevent the spread of disease under these types of conditions.
Women wait at the camp to fill up their water containers at the water pump. Photo : Ruth Craig, Protection of Civilian Camp, South Sudan, September 2015.
The war has interrupted routine vaccinations for children leaving them vulnerable to contracting the polio virus. There has been an outbreak of polio in the country because children have not been able to receive their routine immunizations.
Donncha O’Callaghan at the national vaccine store which is supported by UNICEF and Fyffes. Photo : Mark Condren, Juba, South Sudan, September 2015
The polio vaccine is a live vaccine and needs to be kept at a very low temperature in order to work. In order to do this it requires a chain of different types of refrigeration units to get it from where it is produced to children in hard to reach areas like rural South Sudan. The vaccine is first stored in large refrigerated containers.
Donncha O’Callaghan removes some of the vaccines in a small handheld coolbox. Photo Mark Condren, Juba, South Sudan, September 2015
Before being moved to smaller handheld cool boxes which are often carried on donkey’s or motorcycles to get to some of the hardest to reach areas.
Gerry Cunningham and Emma Hunt Duffy from Fyffes go door to door with UNICEF community health workers. Photo: Ruth Craig, Protection of Civilian Camp, South Sudan, September 2015
Making mother’s aware of immunization campaigns is very important. Traditional means,which we might take for granted here in Ireland are not available, so community health workers go from door to door to tell new mother’s about immunization campaigns.
A UNICEF health worker. Photo : Ruth Craig, Juba, South Sudan, September 2015
Poster’s and health workers wearing t-shirts about the polio immunizations are another way of letting mother’s know that children are being immunized in their area.
Donncha O’ Callaghan and South Sudanese young people. Photo : Mark Condren, Protection of Civilian Camp, South Sudan, September 2015
For every special Freddy Fyffes banana pack purchased in-store, Fyffes will purchase and deliver a polio vaccine to a child in South Sudan.
