National measles-rubella vaccination campaign launched

A national campaign on measles-rubella vaccination was launched in Hanoi on October 11 in the presence of Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan.

The drive forms part of an expanded immunisation programme that has been carried out in Vietnam for nearly three decades.

Speaking at the function, the Vice President stressed that the Party and State have paid due attention to taking care of children over the past time through an array of activities.

The most worthy of note is the free expanded immuisation programme, which aims to prevent infectious diseases threatening children’s health and life, she said.

According to the official, with the support of international organisations, the programme has proven its effectiveness in reducing the rates of disease infections and mortalities among children.

Vietnam has become one of the countries that are able to produce 10 out of 12 vaccines used in the programme.

First student is vaccinated after the launch ceremony. (Photo: Source: dantri.com.vn)

Vice President Doan called on socio-political organisations and the public, especially families of children aged from 1-14, to warmly respond to the campaign.

She also asked the health ministry to ensure the quality and safety of the campaign while partnering with the Ministry of Education and Training to popularise it at schools.

At the launching ceremony, Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, Chief Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam, hailed the Vietnamese Government’s efforts and commitments to investing in vaccination in general and the measles-rubella vaccination campaign in particular.

He suggested the county make the expanded immunisation programme a top priority in the list basic medical interventions, saying all children in the country must benefit from it.

The campaign has been implemented from September 2014 to February 2015, targeting about 23 million children between the ages of 1-14 throughout the nation.

Earlier, the drive was piloted in the northern province of Phu Tho, the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, the central province of Thua Thien – Hue and the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

As many as 757,000 children in 23 cities and provinces across the country have so far received measles-rubella shots.