Over 315,000 Rohingya refugees will be vaccinated against measles and rubella in a 4-week-long campaign beginning on Sunday, 12 January 2020. All children aged 6 months to less than 10 years will get measles and rubella vaccination at the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and nearby areas.
Led by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), with support from World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and other partners, the campaign aims to reach vulnerable children of targeted age group, especially those who missed some or all previous measles and rubella vaccination opportunities.
Measles is a severe disease with fever and rash. Measles infections have caused deaths in the camps. Rubella is a similar but milder disease. Measles rubella vaccine is safe for all children and offers protection against the two diseases. All eligible children will be vaccinated irrespective of previous immunization history. After receiving the vaccine, a small number of people may develop a mild fever. If a child in the family gets fever after vaccination he should go to the nearest health facility.
The vaccination teams are supported by a total of 132 trained vaccinators, 264 volunteers, 1400 Community Health Workers (CHW) and 2000 Majhies. Additionally, 30 supervisors and 68 camp coordinators will support the campaign.
The campaign will be monitored by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) and other partners.
During the campaign period, vaccination teams will be located at designated sites within camp area. For better mobilizing the population, meetings will be held with community members- local leaders, teachers, religious leaders, and community social mobilization activities have been conducted: miking from the mosques, door to door visits, banners displaying.
WHO remains committed in supporting the government to control and eradicate Vaccine Preventable Diseases, emphasizing that measles elimination is one of organization’s flagship programs.