Rwanda’s measles-rubella vaccination campaign, which is being launched today, is the beginning of an effort to vaccinate more than 700 million children under 15 years of age against two disabling and deadly diseases.
The combined measles-rubella vaccine will be introduced in 49 countries by 2020, thanks to financial support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). The support builds on the efforts of the Measles & Rubella Initiative that have helped countries to protect 1.1 billion children against measles since 2001.
Rwanda, which is already effectively controlling measles, becomes the first sub-Saharan African country to provide measles-rubella vaccine nationwide with GAVI backing. The vaccine will not only stop the transmission of rubella from mother to child, preventing severe birth defects in newborns, but also protect children against measles, which is highly contagious.
Full immunization package
“Rwanda has made great strides over the past four years in child survival by introducing vaccines against leading child killers, including pneumonia and diarrhea,” said Dr Agnes Binagwaho, Rwanda’s Minister of Health. “The introduction of the combined measles-rubella vaccine is one more important step to ensuring that all children in Rwanda receive the full immunization package. In our efforts to eliminate measles, we have raised measles coverage through campaigns and routine immunization to higher than 95 percent.”
Starting in Rwanda, the underused rubella vaccines will benefit women’s and children’s health. In pregnant women, rubella can lead to miscarriage or severe birth defects, including blindness, deafness and heart problems. The combined measles-rubella (MR) vaccine provides a 2-in-1 shot against the two diseases and will accelerate global efforts to control rubella and measles.
No child is missed
Rwandan health workers will vaccinate close to five million children between the ages of 9 months and 14 years during the four-day measles-rubella vaccination campaign, starting with a village outside Kigali. All children under age 5 will be vaccinated at Rwanda’s health centers and older children will be vaccinated in schools. Community health workers, present in every village, will do their best to ensure no child is missed.
Five other countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Senegal and Vietnam – are expected to introduce the MR vaccine through vaccination campaigns with GAVI support by the end of 2013.
Read more: allAfrica.com
