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The Ugandan Ministry of Health will launch a campaign in September using a new combination vaccine against measles and rubella in children.
The government has purchased at least 20 million doses of MR vaccine with $ 19 million in financial support from the Global Vaccine Alliance. The vaccination exercise targets more than 18 million children aged 9 months to 14 years.
"An increasing number of unvaccinated children have caused measles outbreaks in several districts of the country," said Doreen Mulenga, a representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Uganda. "By vaccinating every child on time, we will prevent the spread of these dangerous diseases and many preventable deaths and birth defects."
Reported for the first time in the districts of Kampala and Wakiso two years ago, the two diseases spread to at least 62 districts, 25 of which were affected by rubella alone.
"It means our coverage is still low. We do not reach the target of more than 90% and there are people in the communities who could potentially spread the diseases, "said Health Minister Ruth Aceng, speaking at a news conference. meeting with resident district commissioners who will oversee the vaccination exercise.
Globally, more than 400 children die each day from measles and about 280 babies are born with a serious heart defect called conbad rubella syndrome (CRS). But the World Health Organization's monthly update on measles shows that the data could be an underestimate.
"The number of reported cases represents a small proportion of the actual number of cases occurring in communities. Many people do not seek health care or the diagnosis is not reported, "reads the WHO monthly report for July.
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