Distinguished Chair and Members of the Regional Verification Commission
Chairs of National Verification Committees
Partners and colleagues from Ministries of Health, partner agencies, and WHO
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon, and welcome to the 10th meeting of the Regional Verification Commission on Measles and Rubella.
I am pleased to address this assembly of public health leaders at the heart of our fight against these preventable diseases.
This tenth meeting is the first virtual meeting of the commission, and I appreciate your support for this format in the current global funding landscape.
Partners and colleagues,
As you know, we have set ourselves an ambitious target to stop the transmission of indigenous measles and rubella by 2026.
I am pleased to note that we have made meaningful progress in our region’s immunization and disease eradication goals. We continue to remain polio free. We have sustained maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination. Four countries have verified measles elimination, and five have verified rubella elimination.
These achievements are due to our region’s efforts in surveillance, vaccination and outbreak response.
Despite these successes, we must also acknowledge the challenges that still lie ahead.
Shifting priorities, reduced resources, and subnational coverage gaps resulted in re-establishment of measles transmission in areas that had previously interrupted it.
Measles and rubella undeniably continue to pose a threat, particularly to our most vulnerable groups – infants, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems.
We are thus reminded that our work is far from over, and that we must remain vigilant and proactive.
This meeting is an opportunity to review our strategies, assess our progress, and reinforce our collective commitment to achieving and sustaining the elimination of measles and rubella.
Your discussions and insights are crucial to guiding our future actions and ensuring that we are on the right path to success.
My thanks to each of you for your expertise, your dedication and your untiring efforts in this mission. It is because of your continued support that I am confident we will achieve our goal of a measles- and rubella-free South-East Asia.
I know you will use this meeting to move us closer to a future where no child suffers from measles or rubella, and I thank you for that.
I wish you a productive and successful meeting and look forward to receiving your report.
Thank you.