Monrovia, 26th May, 2015: Liberia successfully concluded a week long integrated measles vaccination campaign for under fives in all the 15 counties. This campaign executed from May 8-14 was launched at the Duport Road Health Center in Monrovia by the Vice President of the Republic of Liberia, His Excellency Joseph Nyuma Boakai.

The World Health Organization provided both financial and logistical support. WHO was also responsible for overall partner coordination and monitoring of the campaign including, pre campaign monitoring focusing on assessment of level of preparedness, intra campaign for assurance of quality and safety, and post campaign to assess coverage.

Since January, the country has reported over 563 measles cases, seven of which were fatal. The outbreak could be attributed to the disruption of routine immunization services as a result of the Ebola virus disease outbreak. Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus, and is normally transmitted through direct physical contact and through the air.

The campaign report shows that in total 515,419 (99%) of the targeted 522,732 children 1year to 5 years received mebendazole (deworming), while 689,754 (101%) of the targeted 683,573 children under five received oral polio vaccine (OPV) and 598,251 (99%) of the targeted 603,153 children from 6 months to 5 years received measles vaccine.

The strategy used to achieve this high coverage was to reach children through regular health facilities and temporary vaccination sites in hard-to-reach communities. 1,564 vaccination teams were deployed with each team comprising of two health workers and three volunteers. Reports received from the 15 counties indicate that the campaign was generally successful, despite few incidents of community resistance due to rumours and misconceptions related to the ebola vaccine trial.

The success of the campaign could be attributed to effective logistics and maintenance of the cold chain for the vaccines, and effective social mobilization that ensured that populations who were hitherto unreached were reached during the campaign. Additionally, effective team work contributed to the success. Commenting on the campaign in Grand Cape Mount County, the County Health Officer, Dr Lorraine Cooper stated that she was impressed and proud of the quality work done by the county health team during the campaign. Grand Cape Mount County was ranked top on the list by the Ministry of Health because of its high vaccination coverage. Dr Cooper explained several factors contributing to this accomplishment; “We were consistently going the extra mile, using our modest means to reach all our targets. And most importantly, we were working together as a team. By coordinating our efforts and grouping ourselves into flexible subgroups, using intensive social mobilization, and going out of our ways to reach even the most remote schools, churches and villages, we were able to create the success story that this campaign became” .

Looking ahead, Liberia will be confronted with several public health challenges as improving the country health system post-Ebola will take some time. Attaining high vaccination coverage is important in averting potential vaccine preventable disease outbreaks and contributes to a sustainable health system in Liberia.

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For more information, please contact:

LUWAGA Liliane, Email luwagal [at] who.int ( luwagal[at]who[dot]int)