Viet Nam's largest-ever, national immunization campaign against measles-rubella (MR) was launched at the Le Quy Don school in Hanoi with the presence of Vice President of the State Mme Nguyen Thi Doan and Minister of Health Associate Professor Mme Nguyen Thi Kim Tien.
The MR campaign is part of Viet Nam's expanded immunization programme that has provided life-saving vaccines against deadly diseases such as diphtheria, polio and tetanus to all children for nearly three decades. As a result, the country's immunization efforts have saved more than 42,000 lives and prevented more than 6.7 million cases of polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and measles.
Representing the United Nations in Viet Nam, UNICEF Representative Mr Youssouf Abdel Jelil addressed a crowd of children and dignitaries. "Immunization remains one of the most-effective health interventions," he said. "I urge the Government to keep immunization very high on the list of essential health interventions because a child unreached by immunization is often the most vulnerable."
Immunization remains one of the most-effective health interventions
The current campaign aims to reach 23 million children ages 1-14 with the MR vaccine over the next six months.
Earlier this year, Viet Nam witnessed an unprecedented rise in measles infections which affected more than 5000 children including the loss of more than 140 young lives.
The MR immunization campaign, which lasts through to February 2015, is part of Viet Nam's commitment to the Measles & Rubella Initiative, a global partnership to ensure that no child dies from measles or is born with congenital rubella syndrome. The Measles & Rubella Initiative is led by the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
The current MR campaign is largely financed by the GAVI Alliance. The MR vaccines, produced by the Serum Institute from India, are pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and procured by UNICEF for Viet Nam.
UNICEF also works to ensure that the hardest to reach children have access to vaccines and has provided vaccine communication support to the Government, health care workers and teachers in the lead-up to the launch. WHO provides in-country support to improve the quality of laboratories, better disease surveillance and routine vaccination services.
Viet Nam has set a goal to achieve measles elimination by 2017. The MR vaccine will be included, free of charge, as part of Viet Nam's routine, expanded immunization.