WHO rolls out measles vaccination campaign to fight ongoing outbreak

More than 1.2 million children aged 6 to 59 months are earmarked to be vaccinated during the current measles vaccination campaign in Afghanistan, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.

According to WHO, about 9,200 health workers, volunteers, supervisors, and monitors have been mobilized to cover 49 districts in 24 provinces in a week-long campaign that started on Saturday. The campaign will wrap up on Thursday.

WHO in Afghanistan is supporting the Afghan Ministry of Public Health and provincial health authorities in the management of the vaccination.

“This measles immunization campaign is part of the national response measure to stop the spread of the outbreak, save lives of young children and reduce the burden on health systems”, says Dr Luo Dapeng, WHO Representative in Afghanistan, who joined the campaign in Malek Mohammad Khan District Hospital in Wardak province.

“I appeal to every parent to bring your kids for vaccination and give them the best gift of being protected from life-threatening but preventable disease. I also appeal to everyone to protect the health workers; they are protecting your children and it is your duty to ensure their safety.”

Afghanistan has been experiencing a measles resurgence that started at the beginning of 2021. From January 2021 to 13 March 2022, there have been 48,366 cases and 250 deaths.

In 2022 alone, there have been over 18,000 cases and 142 children have died of measles in the country.

“The rise in measles cases in Afghanistan is especially concerning because of the extremely high levels of malnutrition. Malnutrition weakens immunity, making people more vulnerable to illness and death from diseases like measles – especially children,” said Dapeng.