Vaccination drive against measles outbreak kicks off in Afghanistan

More than 1.2 million children aged 6-59 months are expected to be vaccinated during the ongoing measles vaccination campaign in Afghanistan, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement on Monday.

The one-week-long campaign that started at the weekend is set to cover 49 districts in 24 of the country's 34 provinces.

WHO is supporting the Afghan Health Ministry in the management of the vaccination campaign.

In the statement, the WHO Representative in Afghanistan Dr Luo Dapeng has appealed to parents to protect their kids against the life-threatening but preventable disease by vaccinating them.

He also appealed to everyone to protect the health workers and ensure their safety.

Last month, eight members of the polio vaccination teams were killed in four separate incidents in northern Afghanistan that resulted in the suspension of the campaign in those provinces.

Afghanistan has been experiencing a measles resurgence since the beginning of 2021.

According to the WHO data, from January 2021 to March 13, 2022, there have been 48,366 cases and 250 deaths.

The outbreak has significantly surged this year.

In 2022 alone, there have been over 18,000 cases and 142 children have died of measles in the country.

"The rise in measles cases in Afghanistan is especially concerning because of the extremely high levels of malnutrition. Malnutrition weakens immunity, making people more vulnerable to illness and death from diseases like measles – especially children," Dr Dapeng said.

Afghanistan has become the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

Millions of people in the war-torn country are suffering from a hunger crisis due to the current economic collapse.