ANN/THE PHNOM PENH POST – Cambodia’s Ministry of Health launched a nationwide measles-rubella (MR) vaccination campaign to immunise more than 1.5 million children aged nine months to five years across its 25 provinces.
Supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), this initiative is part of a larger effort to strengthen Cambodia’s health security and prevent potential outbreaks.
According to a joint press release, the campaign addresses a global surge in measles and rubella cases, which have more than doubled in recent years due to disruptions in routine vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cambodia, though removed from WHO’s High TB Burden list in 2021, still faces heightened risks of infectious disease outbreaks.
“Health personnel have done a good job during previous immunisation campaigns, and I am sure that during this campaign too, health staff will do everything they can to reach all children,” Health Minister Chheang Ra was quoted as saying.
The campaign, divided into two phases, will cover 13 capital-provinces in the first phase.
