President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Sunday launched a national campaign to eliminate measles from the Maldives.
The campaign was inaugurated at a special ceremony held at the President’s Office early Sunday.
The vaccination for measles was first introduced to the Maldives in 1981 and, since 2010, there has been no reported cases of the disease.
In this new campaign, all citizens of age 15 years to 25 years are to be vaccinated, while children of age between 8 years to 14 years are also to be vaccinated if their dozes have not been completed.
As the vaccines are given by injections, minor pain and light fever are common side effects.
Speaking at the press conference held at the President’s Office, Minister of Health Abdulla Nazim said that the campaign is conducted with the assistance of World Health Organisation (WHO). He added that special research was also conducted for the campaign nationwide. According to Minister Nazim, there are 75,000 people who needs to be vaccinated. Hence he expects that 95 percent of the campaign will be accomplished within two weeks’ period.
With the successful completion of the campaign, the Maldives will be declared as a measles-free nation.
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