World
WHO concerned about rising measles, rubella cases among children in Yemen
The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about rising cases of measles and rubella among children in Yemen after more than 34,000 instances of the diseases were reported, it said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the WHO, the number of suspected cases of measles and rubella in Yemen reached 34,300, with 413 deaths as of July this year – a sharp increase, compared to 27,000 cases and 220 associated deaths in 2022.
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An additional concern is the fact that there is only limited information on the outbreak’s impact on pregnant women, who remain at high risk, the WHO statement added.
The increase in measles and rubella cases comes within the context of economic decline and low incomes, high displacement and overcrowding at the refugee camps. With an overwhelmed health system and low immunization rates, a large number of children are still unreachable through routine immunization interventions.
According to the WHO-UNICEF National Immunization Coverage Estimate for 2022, 27 percent of children under one year of age in Yemen are unvaccinated for measles and rubella and have not been administered even the minimal set of vaccines for full protection.
“Ideally, the outbreak response vaccination campaign should target at least all children under the age of ten in order to be comprehensive and effective. However, the current funding gap has eroded support and limited the target to children under five years of age – the group with higher mortality rates,” said Dr Arturo Pesigan, the WHO Representative in Yemen.
WHO said it was working with the Yemeni Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP) and other partners to increase support for routine vaccination interventions, adding that it will also continue to work within the National Health Framework to provide technical and financial support to improve vaccination coverage among children.
In 2022, WHO supported the protection of around 913,000 children from measles and rubella, according to the statement.
As of July 2023, MoPHP, with the support of WHO and other partners, reached a coverage rate of around 65 percent of all children – for doses of both, measles and rubella (MR1 and MR2).
A measles-rubella vaccination campaign, targeting 1.2 million children under the age of five, will be implemented this month.
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