Measles immunisation campaign gets sultanate closer to WHO goal: MoH
Campaign covered 92% people at the national level which included 98% citizens and 88% residents
The National Measles Immunisation Campaign that ran from May until September covered 92 per cent people at the national level. This comprised 98 per cent citizens and 88 per cent residents taking into consideration the 2016 population of the targeted age group (20-35).
The results of the campaign were announced by H E Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Obaid al Saeedi, Minister of Health at a special ceremony held to announce the conclusion of the campaign at Crowne Plaza Muscat on Sunday.
The ceremony was organised by the Ministry of Health (MoH) represented by the Directorate General for Disease Surveillance & Control (DGDSC).
A number of high-ranking officials from the Shura Council and MoH also attended the ceremony.
H E Dr Mohammed Saif al Hosni, Undersecretary for Health Affairs in MoH, delivered the inaugural speech where he underlined the measles and rubella elimination goal by 2020 set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
H E Dr Hosni pointed out that this event was held in line with the 47th National Day celebrations which make it an addition to the outstanding achievements accomplished in the sultanate. It reflects the union of the health system with other private sectors and the civil society.
The ceremony also included a lecture that introduced the national measles elimination strategy and summary of the campaign which was given by Bader al Rawahi, head of Immunization of the Department of Communicable Diseases, DGDSC.
Rawahi emphasised that the sultanate has implemented several strategies to achieve the goal which has resulted in reaching nearly zero local cases per a million case according to the WHO Measles Elimination standards. In addition, the central laboratory has been strengthened and equipped with preeminent detectors and lab investigations.
The ceremony concluded with H E Dr Saeedi honouring the organisations that supported the campaign.