World’s biggest measles campaign in Bangladesh

(Feb. 24) - The UN children's emergency fund, UNICEF, says a measles campaign that kicks off in Bangladesh on Feb. 25, is the biggest such vaccination programme ever undertaken in the world. The campaign is aimed at inoculating some 34 million children in Bangladesh where UNICEF estimates nearly 20,000 children die each year from the disease.
The campaign is a joint effort by the UNICEF and the Bangladesh government. The 20-day campaign aims to cover children aged between 9 months and 10 years. Measles is the fifth leading cause of death among children under five years of age in Bangladesh. The inoculation programme is aimed at 62 districts and five cities.
Last September nearly 1.4 million children in two districts were given the measles vaccine. UNICEF says only three in four children in Bangladesh receive their routine measles vaccine. It said 40 million doses of measles vaccines are ready for the campaign.