Kenya Launches Measles, Rubella Vaccination Campaign

Kenya's Ministry of Health on Wednesday launched a 10-day measles and rubella vaccination campaign in the 22 high-risk counties to reduce the spike in the number of unvaccinated children

NAIROBI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Jun, 2021 ) :Kenya's Ministry of Health on Wednesday launched a 10-day measles and rubella vaccination campaign in the 22 high-risk counties to reduce the spike in the number of unvaccinated children.

Mercy Mwangangi, chief administrative secretary in the Ministry of Health said that the campaign that runs from June 26 to July 5 targets to reach about 3.5 million children below five years.

A risk assessment that was conducted in the country with the support of the World Health Organization identified 22 counties as being at very high risk for measles outbreaks.

Rudi Eggers, WHO representative to Kenya, said that despite the good progress made so far, Kenya has continued to experience measles outbreaks since the last nationwide measles-rubella vaccination in 2016.

Measles is a common cause of deaths among children from vaccine-preventable diseases. And rubella like measles is a highly infectious viral disease that can cause serious health complications to newborns such as birth defects, heart problems, loss of hearing and eyesight, and brain damage.