UN-supported campaign to immunise 150,000 Rohingya children

As thousands of Rohingya refugees, including many children, having fled violence in Myanmar continue to arrive in Bangladesh, a United Nations-supported vaccination campaign has been initiated to prevent the spread of potentially deadly diseases, the UN News Centre has reported.

According to a news release by the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, the agency and the UN World Health Organisation, WHO, are supporting the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health-led campaign targeting measles, rubella and polio to inoculate some 150,000 Rohingya children below the age of 15 in 68 refugee settlements near the country's border with Myanmar.

"We are happy that we were able to initiate the immunisation campaign so quickly to protect the population from a possible measles outbreak" said Navaratnasamy Paranietharan, head of WHO in Bangladesh.

The seven-day campaign was planned by the UN health agency, which is also managing and monitoring its field implementation. UNICEF has provided vaccines, syringes and Vitamin A capsules.

"Measles is a very infectious and dangerous disease during emergencies, especially for children who are already weak and malnourished. With thousands of children crossing the border every day, vaccination is crucial to prevent the spread of potentially deadly diseases," added Edouard Beigbeder, head of UNICEF in Bangladesh.

In addition to the vaccination campaign, the two UN agencies are also helping the government reinforce maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health services; renovate delivery and new-born care units; improve water, sanitation and hygiene in health facilities; and strengthen disease surveillance, early warning and health-related information systems.