Ministry of Health Announces Completion of Arrangements for Measles Vaccination Campaign

The Ministry of Public Health and Population has announced the completion of technical and administrative arrangements to implement the national vaccination campaign against measles and rubella, scheduled to launch on November 7th, lasting for 6 days, and targeting 100 districts in 10 governorates.

The Ministry's Undersecretary for the Primary Health Care Sector, Ali Al-Walidi, explained that the campaign aims to reach 957,196 children between the ages of six months and 59 months as part of national efforts to raise community immunity and curb the spread of measles and rubella and their serious health complications, in addition to reaching targeted children in various displacement centers.

He noted that the ministry has completed a significant part of the preparations related to equipping field teams, distributing tasks, and defining geographical coverage areas, according to his statement to the official news agency (Saba).

Al-Walidi emphasized that measles remains a health challenge that requires intensified vaccination efforts due to its rapid transmission and the serious complications it can cause, especially in children, including pneumonia and encephalitis, which can sometimes be fatal. These risks, he added, can be prevented through safe and effective vaccines.

He explained that the campaign represents an important preventive health intervention to boost immunity in targeted children and reach those who have not received vaccines or completed their doses. He stressed that vaccination during national campaigns supplements, rather than replaces, routine immunization services.

The Undersecretary for the Primary Health Care Sector called on parents to engage positively with the campaign, bring their children to the fixed teams at health facilities, and cooperate with mobile teams that will visit homes and communities. He urged them not to miss the opportunity to vaccinate their children, even if they have previously received doses, according to the age groups specified in the campaign.

He also called on local authorities, health offices, community, educational, and religious leaders, media, and civil society organizations to actively contribute to awareness and community mobilization, facilitate access for vaccination teams to targeted areas, and enhance public trust in the importance of vaccines and their role in protecting children from preventable diseases.

Al-Walidi stressed that the success of the campaign is an integrated responsibility that requires the combined efforts of the health sector, its partners, and the community. He noted that reaching every targeted child is a priority to ensure children's protection, enhance health security, and prevent epidemic outbreaks.