Articles in Media on Measles Campaign - Unicef

Edition: New Delhi
Date- 31st Jan 2011
Journalist: Aditi Tandon
Fight aga<strong>in</strong>st measles enters critical phase
India is ready to enter the most critical phase of its fight aga<strong>in</strong>st measles, the respiratory disease whose prevalence
is erod<strong>in</strong>g the country’s hard-earned child health ga<strong>in</strong>s and push<strong>in</strong>g back the reduction of the <strong>in</strong>fant mortality rate
which is the fourth Millennium Development Goal. Three out of every four children <strong>in</strong> the world who died of
measles last year were from India. Our reported annual mortality from measles ranges from 50,000 to one lakh.
Tomorrow onwards through the entire months February and March, the government will be closely watch<strong>in</strong>g the
culm<strong>in</strong>ation of its ambitious Measles catch-up campaign which began <strong>in</strong> November last year to adm<strong>in</strong>ister a second
dose of the Measles Conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g Vacc<strong>in</strong>e (MCV) to children left uncovered by the first dose adm<strong>in</strong>istered dur<strong>in</strong>g
rout<strong>in</strong>e immunisation at 9 to 12 months of age.
The pilot campaign seeks to cover 13.4 crore children aged n<strong>in</strong>e months to 10 years <strong>in</strong> the 14 most high-risk states
(where the first MCV dose coverage is under 80 per cent) and will enter its last leg tomorrow as the rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g
among the vulnerable states cover their respective target populations over the next two months. Jharkhand will take
the lead here by roll<strong>in</strong>g out the MCV second dose from tomorrow.
Through the month, it hopes to immunise eight lakh children <strong>in</strong> the five districts chosen for the pilot project. Close
to 40,000 anganwari workers from the state have been roped <strong>in</strong> for the mammoth exercise dur<strong>in</strong>g which Jharkhand
expects 100 per cent coverage, Maoist <strong>in</strong>festation notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g.―Dur<strong>in</strong>g the first week of the campaign, we will
cover school children after which we will have outreach camps and door-to-door coverage. Technical support is
be<strong>in</strong>g offered by UNICEF,‖ Aradhna Patnaik, Director, National Rural Health Mission, Jharkhand, today told The
Tribune correspondent <strong>in</strong> Ranchi.Tripura will accompany Jharkhand <strong>in</strong> the campaign launch tomorrow while
Nagaland, Gujarat and Meghalaya will roll it out from February 7, February 23 and March 20, respectively. The
high-risk states that have already wound up their measles catch-up <strong>in</strong>clude Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana
(five districts), Rajasthan, Manipur, Bihar, Chhattisgarh (n<strong>in</strong>e districts) and Madhya Pradesh. From April, the
project is expected to be scaled up. India contributes 75 per cent to the measles burden of Southeast Asia, the only
WHO region which has failed to reduce measles deaths under the 2005 World Health Assembly pledge of reduc<strong>in</strong>g
global measles mortality by 90 per cent until 2010.It was then that the Assembly recommended a second dose of
MCV for improved global measles immunisation. India went slow, act<strong>in</strong>g only <strong>in</strong> November last year, and <strong>in</strong> the
process squander<strong>in</strong>g global ga<strong>in</strong>s. ―Southeast Asia reduced measles deaths by just 46 per cent while the world
reduced the same by 90 per cent. It saw 1, 64, 000 measles deaths last year-over 75 per cent of these were <strong>in</strong> India.
Measles second dose is critical for improved population immunity because the first dose adm<strong>in</strong>istered at 9 months
is just 85 per cent effective. The second given beyond 12 months is 95 per cent effective,‖ Dr Debashish Roy,
WHO specialist for SE Asia told The Tribune, reiterat<strong>in</strong>g vacc<strong>in</strong>e safety.
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