PERSONA
WELL-BEING ISSUES RESEARCH NEWSCOPE TRENDS
THEME the reduction of under-five child mortality.
UNICEF is a key partner in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’ s rollout of the ongoing Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaign, which is now in its third phase and has vaccinated 7.7 crore children in 16 states till date( 3 April 2018). The MR Campaign targets around 41 crore children, making it one of the largest ever immunisation campaign of its kind. It aims to eliminate Measles and control Rubella by 2020. The vaccine has already been rolled out in several states and will soon be launched in Assam, Haryana and Punjab.
Q. How safe is the Measles-Rubella vaccine? The Measles-Rubella( MR) vaccine is a safe and costeffective vaccine that has been available for the past 40 years. The presently used vaccine is a WHO-prequalified vaccine and is licensed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization of India. As many as 165 WHO member countries provide Measles second dose in their national immunisation programme. The Rubella vaccine has been introduced in 159 countries. India, along with 10 other member countries of South East Asia region of WHO, has resolved to eliminate Measles and control Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome( CRS) by 2020.
The surveillance of Adverse Events Following Immunisation( AEFI) is an integral part of MR vaccination campaign. AEFI management kit is provided at all vaccination session sites including schools so that immediate response can be initiated following an AEFI.
The Government of India has recently amended AEFI management protocol. Now Adrenalin injection is part of each AEFI kit, which is life-saving in case of anaphylaxis. Both public and private sector medical practitioners and health workers are trained prior to MR campaign to handle such adverse events.
Dr. Yasmin had joined as the UNICEF Representative in India in July last year and prior to that, she was Deputy Director of UNICEF’ s Office of Emergency Operations where she played a leading role in the programming and policies for an effective UNICEF response for children in humanitarian crisis. She started her career in UNICEF in 1996 and held many appointments in challenging situations.
12 Volume 3 | Issue 3 | July-September 2018