Measles: Nationwide Vaccination Campaign [Archives:2001/33/Health]

Dr. Gamal A. Habib A. Sattar
Debuty Manager of EPD
The nationwide vaccination campaign is the major goal for curbing and combating measles in the country and for limiting deaths among children. Ninety-eight percent of deaths in the developing countries are attributable to measles, malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency.
Although immunization programs prevent over 80 million cases of measles and 5.5 million deaths annually, it is estimated that over 30 million cases and 875000 deaths still occur every year. Globally, therefore, measles remains the leading cause of vaccine-preventable child mortality.
Republic of Yemen is on of these countries, and measles consider one of health problems, and first causes of infant mortality, but recently especially from 1998 after the rehabilitation of the management team of the national program on immunization, where started to change the administrative concepts-planning, implementing and evaluation-and to make it more decentralization, strengthen the cold chine by rehabilitation it in all govornorates, which translated to high numbers of vaccines coverage especially for measles.
Since 1996, the National Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) yearly recoded a grate successes on the field of Polio Eradication, where in beautiful views implement the global policy, due to national immunization days (NIDs), which hardly proved that, Yemen is not fare from the global goals, very speedily and in time will reach the global goals for Polio Eradication. Although the other side for the global goals are measles control,. There are same similarities between Polio eradication and Measles control in some basic principles and some strategies are complementary. For example, both require supplementary immunization of large age groups regardless of immunization status; active AFP surveillance, this from one side, and from other, the big progress on the routine activities, which appear by raise the curve of measles coverage since1998 until privies year 2000, which consequences increased (66%-74%and 73%), also the changes on the epidemiological picture of measles, which more accurse among children’s over 5 of age, the intervals between outbreaks are lengthened and the redaction in measles incidence and mortality.
What are the aims of measles campaign?
Immunization is essential for children to achieve their right to the highest attainable standard of health.
Specific goals for redaction in measles morbidity and mortality (ill cases and deaths), were set in 1889, 1990 and subsequently, target dates of 2000,2007 and 2010 for Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Specific aim
To conduct National campaign for measles vaccine among children’s from 9-59 month of age were estimated about 2.555.580
General aims
Success coverage not less than 90%.
To reduce by 95% in measles deaths.
To reduce by 90% of measles cases
What are the strategic steps implemented in measles campaign?
There was a specific reasons should be taken in the consideration for measles vaccine, likes its character, technical methods for vaccine delivery, the procedures for using syringes, to prevent the post delivery complication and full awareness by health workers, who had fulfilled this campaign.
The strategies are:
– The Republic was deviated to six parts or regions
Each part had denoted the date for implementation.
– Active supervision was conducted in each part in the time of implementation.
– Active social mobilization in direct contact by using microphones for providing health massages.
The challenge in Measles campaign was very hardly, regarding to character of measles vaccine, widely in range delayed from 24/March until 15/June 2001, big consumed efforts are expending to promote supervision and evaluation: 120 governorates team, 578 governorates. Supervisors, 4105 health workers in statistic centers, 7230 health workers in mobile team, 300 governmental drivers, 639 rental cars, and 15 central supervisors, all participated very actively to reach the goals.
Challenge started when EPI decided on the basic of success to promote this progress and on the benefits of privies campaigns, to changes same of his aims, strategies and to follow regional strategies and to accept in full confidence with taking in his consideration
all huge problems, which will faces the EPI administrative, when implementing measles campaign.
At the end, we can congratulate our EPI administrative, with full confidence for the greater success Measles campaign, with coverage of 94%.


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