Approximately 15 million children have been vaccinated against measles in Ethiopia. This was done under a countrywide campaign under the leadership of Ethiopian Ministry of Health with support from Vaccine Alliance, US CDC, WHO, Gavi and UNICEF.
The measles vaccination campaign ran for 10 days which is reported to be longer than the pre-Covid-19 period due to the effort to avoid overcrowding.
During the vaccination campaign, health workers are reported to have observed Covid-19 measures such as wearing masks, observing social distance, measuring body temperatures and regular hand washing.
The campaign targeted 15 million children aged between 9 and 59 months and achieved a 96% success rate with 14.4 million children benefiting from the campaign. This is a prove that African countries can continues offering essential health services despite the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.
Measles is a highly contagious disease and ranked among the leading causes of death among children worldwide. The deaths are happening despite having an effective and safe vaccine in place.
In 2018, it is estimated that 52,600 people died in Africa Region as a result of measles. An outbreak of measles is still a risk in all African countries because regular immunization is below 95 percent coverage.
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1283473110126284801
World Health Organization (WHO) has always insisted on the need for continuing with these life-saving immunization services across the African continent.
