Chair and Members of the Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination; Chair and representatives of National Verification Committees for measles and rubella elimination from all eleven Member States; National EPI program managers and officers; partners from UNICEF, US CDC, GAVI, BMGF,
I welcome you to this sixth meeting of the WHO South-East Asia Region Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination.
Over the next three days, you will verify progress to eliminate measles and rubella in select countries of our Region, based on the updated framework for elimination.
Before anything, I want to commend Member States and partners for their commitment to achieve our Flagship Priority amid what can only be described as extraordinary circumstances – circumstances that have prevailed for almost two years now.
So much is at stake.
In the past two decades, the Region has reduced mortality from measles by around 80%.
Five countries of the Region have been verified for eliminating measles, each of them sustaining elimination throughout 2020.
Two countries have eliminated rubella, which four more countries have controlled.
By 2019, coverage of routine immunization in the Region – of which coverage of measles-containing vaccine is a strong indicator – had reached 91%, up from 83% in 2010.
In 2020, amid the COVID-19 response, an additional 35 million children across our Region were vaccinated against measles and rubella through supplementary immunization campaigns.
These and other achievements are a credit to Region-wide resolve, and to the immense capacity that all countries of the Region have developed, and which they continue to strengthen.
Gaps and challenges remain.
In 2020, first-dose coverage of measles-containing vaccine declined to 88% from 94% the previous year. Second-dose coverage declined to 78%.
In several countries of the Region, cracks in surveillance have widened, risking outbreaks in communities already at risk of being left behind.
Inadequate financing continues to hamper operational planning and implementation.
If unaddressed, it will negatively impact efforts to achieve our 2023 target, which is an important indicator for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3 target B1.
Together, we must catch up and reclaim the advantage, for which the Region’s new Strategic Framework and the global Immunization Agenda 2030 will prove vital.
Today, I highlight three priorities, which I urge this Commission, experts and Member State representatives to contribute towards.
First, the Region must remain goal-oriented, focused on maintaining and strengthening routine and supplementary immunization capacities.
Now more than ever, we must pull together to achieve our vision of a Region in which no child suffers or dies from measles; where no pregnant woman loses her unborn baby due to rubella; and where no neonate is born with a heart ailment or loss of hearing owing due to in-utero rubella infection.
Second, we must remain agile and responsive, adapting plans where required, while continuing to monitor progress.
An in-depth review of where we are today, with next steps and a feasibility assessment, is urgently required to help countries refine strategic, operational and policy guidelines.
In all countries of the Region, this Commission must help generate evidence and strengthen data collection and analysis, which is essential to understanding who is missing out and why.
Third, we must make the case for increased investments in measles and rubella elimination, and for the full implementation of the Strategic Framework and Immunization Agenda.
Immunization is a global health and development success story. Every year, it saves millions of lives.
Amid the COVID-19 response, investing in, maintaining and strengthening routine and supplementary immunization capacities is critically important – for life-long health and well-being, for social and economic development, and to achieve the fairer, healthier, more equitable Region and world to which we are committed.
I once again thank Member States and partners for their commitment, wish you successful deliberations, and look forward to being apprised of the outcomes.
Thank you.