Measles campaign in drought-hit areas of country

The Ethiopian ministry of health, supported by WHO and UNICEF, has started a major measles and Vitamin A campaign in drought-affected areas of Ethiopia, the UN Ethiopia Country team announced on Friday in its humanitarian update. The operation was aimed at a total of 2.6 million children for vaccination against measles and supplementary Vitamin A micronutrients. Preparations for the campaign included a special focus on radio spots in 12 languages broadcast on Radio Ethiopia, Radio Fana and the BBC Somali service. The campaign was in addition to the Ethiopian government’s three-year measles programme which had succeeded in vaccinating almost all the children in more accessible areas over the past two years, the update said. According to WHO, previous outbreaks of measles in Ethiopia have killed up to 20 percent of those infected.