Sindh to Launch World’s Largest Vaccination Campaign Against Contagious Diseases Among Children

The Sindh government has decided to launch the world’s largest vaccination drive in the province to immunize children against contagious diseases such as measles and rubella.

According to details, 19 million children aged between 9 months and 15 years will be given mandatory shots of measles and rubella vaccine during the 12-day drive that will commence on 15 November.

Besides, 8 million children aged less than 5 years will be administered polio drops in this campaign as well.

More than 15,000 skilled workers such as vaccinators, medical technicians, and lady health workers, over 43,500 non-skilled staff, and around 3,265 supervisors will take part in the drive.

Pediatricians from both public and private hospitals, religious leaders from different schools of thought, and civil society members from all spheres of life will be engaged to achieve the goals of the campaign.

Moreover, a comprehensive awareness campaign will be launched in both print and digital media to raise awareness about the impacts of measles and rubella on children such as death, blindness, pneumonia, brain damage, and other permanent disabilities.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Project Director at Expanded Program Immunization (EPI) Sindh, Dr. Irshad Memon, said that so far in 2021, 38 children in the province have died from measles and rubella, which are vaccine-preventable diseases.

Dr. Irshad added that the new Measles-Rubella vaccine approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) will be used in the province-wide campaign.

He said that EPI’s technical partners such as WHO and UNICEF will also support the Sindh government to ensure the successful execution of the campaign.

Besides, Dr. Irshad noted that EPI offers free-of-cost vaccines against 12 preventable diseases among children and urged parents to ensure the vaccination of children against these diseases.



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