Bangladesh has dispatched thousands of health workers and volunteers across the nation in an effort to vaccinate more than 20 million children against measles.
"The campaign started very well with 2.5 million children already immunized against measles during the first day," Carel de Rooy, country representative for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), told IRIN on 15 February.
More than 50,000 health staff, 600,000 volunteers and NGOs are taking part in the campaign, working at 120,000 vaccinations sites across the country.
The two-week effort is aimed at all children aged nine months to less than five years of age, while all children aged 0-5 will also be given two drops of polio vaccine.
"Children of that particular age who received measles or polio vaccine earlier will have to take the vaccine again," Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque said at the campaign's launch, adding that a single child left without immunization would pose a threat to other children.
UNICEF estimates that around four million children under five in Bangladesh are not protected against measles.
Bangladesh last conducted a major national measles campaign in 2005-2006. About 35 million children between the ages of nine months and 10 years were immunized.
In 2006, there were only seven registered measles outbreaks, compared to 27 in the first two months of 2006 prior to the campaign. No measles outbreak was reported in 2007 and only one occurred respectively in 2008 and 2009, de Rooy said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), measles, a highly contagious viral disease, remains one of the leading causes of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.
An estimated 164,000 people died from measles in 2008 - mostly children under five.
ds/ey/cb
"The campaign started very well with 2.5 million children already immunized against measles during the first day," Carel de Rooy, country representative for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), told IRIN on 15 February.
More than 50,000 health staff, 600,000 volunteers and NGOs are taking part in the campaign, working at 120,000 vaccinations sites across the country.
The two-week effort is aimed at all children aged nine months to less than five years of age, while all children aged 0-5 will also be given two drops of polio vaccine.
"Children of that particular age who received measles or polio vaccine earlier will have to take the vaccine again," Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque said at the campaign's launch, adding that a single child left without immunization would pose a threat to other children.
UNICEF estimates that around four million children under five in Bangladesh are not protected against measles.
Bangladesh last conducted a major national measles campaign in 2005-2006. About 35 million children between the ages of nine months and 10 years were immunized.
In 2006, there were only seven registered measles outbreaks, compared to 27 in the first two months of 2006 prior to the campaign. No measles outbreak was reported in 2007 and only one occurred respectively in 2008 and 2009, de Rooy said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), measles, a highly contagious viral disease, remains one of the leading causes of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.
An estimated 164,000 people died from measles in 2008 - mostly children under five.
ds/ey/cb
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
Share this article
