Eritrea: all children under 5 targeted in UN-backed measles vaccination campaign

Nearly 4,000 health workers, vaccinators and volunteers are fanning out across Eritrea in a United Nations-backed measles vaccination and Vitamin A supplements campaign targeting almost half a million children aged between the ages of six months and five years.

“The campaign is targeting all children, including those who have missed out on routine vaccination and are therefore susceptible to the disease,” UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative Pirkko Heinonen said. “We need to reach all children to pave the way towards the elimination of measles in Eritrea.”

Routine measles coverage is just above 80 per cent, leaving almost one fifth of the country’s children without protection from the deadly childhood disease each year. UNICEF and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) are supporting the Eritrean Health Ministry in the campaign.

UNICEF is providing supplies such as vaccines, syringes and Vitamin A capsules. In addition, support has been given to the development, production and dissemination of social mobilization materials, regional plans and logistics.

The agency received timely emergency funding from the newly established UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Governments of the Netherlands, Canada and Sweden, which allowed the life-saving campaign to be undertaken at a time when many children are undernourished and vulnerable to health risks.

Many areas of Eritrea have been affected by drought over the last few years and children have been weakened by malnutrition, with malnutrition rates reaching over 20 per cent in certain areas. Vitamin A supplements are included because they boost the immune system and prevent night blindness in children. A second round of Vitamin A supplementation will be conducted at the end of the year.