State Partners With Unicef, WHO to Eradicate Measles

Government has partnered with the United Nations Emergency Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organisation (WHO) and other donors to immunise five million children against measles.

Government has pumped in K100 million, UNICEF $US 3 million and the WHO $US 1 million in the vaccination exercise to be conducted from June 7 to 13 throughout the country.

Health Minister Brian Chituwo said this when he opened the partners' meeting for the national measles campaign that the disease was one of the major causes of childhood illnesses contributing about 70 per cent of deaths.

Dr Chituwo said this year's immunisation exercise would cover all the provinces except Southern which had a similar campaign last year.

Dr Chituwo said through the exercise, Government and its partners would assist most vulnerable children, reduce the number of measles cases and make tangible progress in fighting the killer disease.

UNICEF resident representative Stella Goings said measles affected over 30 million children most of them in Africa.

Dr Goings said although efforts to eradicate measles in Zambia had been made the country had witnessed numerous sporadic outbreaks and there was no way authorities and cooperating partners could stand by and watch the situation.

She said UNICEF had also made arrangements to bring in 6,000 cold boxes, 5,000 ice packs, seven million doses of measles vaccine, six million syringes, safety boxes and 10 health staff to help in the immunisation exercise.

She called on the media to spread information on the exercise and that other concerned institutions should contribute to the exercise and ensure that no child was left out.

WHO representative Edward Maganu said measles in Zambia had affected more than 120,000 children and adults resulting in 40,000 deaths from 1997 to 2002.

Dr Maganu said the up-coming exercise would be the largest in the country and that the target age group would be from six months to 15 years adding that this would help reduce measles cases to zero when the exercise is complete.

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