A second Measles and Rubella (MR) mop up vaccination campaign was recently finalized in Cox’s Bazar district, covering nearly 355 000 Rohingya children aged between 6 months to below 15 years old.
The campaign from 18 November to 5 December was led by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and was supported by WHO, UNICEF and health partner organizations. The first MR campaign ended in September, when nearly 150 000 children were vaccinated. 94 mobile and fix vaccination teams, composed of nearly 500 people were involved in this initiatives to protect the newly arrived population from communicable diseases.
Remote and hard to reach settlements including those are accessible, connected by bamboo bridges or narrow footpaths, these are usually at higher risk to have people unvaccinated.
Teams from WHO and health organization partners with MoHFW health inspectors conducted monitoring visits in remote settlements to ensure that everyone was vaccinated.
The monitoring teams identified significant number of youngsters being out of the settlements during the day to collect fire wood, or adolescent girls being reluctant in getting immunized by male vaccinators. As a result, mobile immunization teams composed of male-female teams conducted door to door vaccination activities.
Achieving uniformly high coverage in the target areas is critical in protecting communities from communicable diseases while real-time monitoring allows rapid formulation of additional activities to areas with inadequate coverage.
The health needs of vulnerable populations in Cox’s Bazar are immense and pressing. WHO is on the ground and working closely with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and health organizations to provide immediate and ongoing support.