DRC's North Kivu: Polio, measles vaccination campaign kicks off

A polio and measles vaccination campaign has kicked off in the Democratic Republic of Congo's east.

Field health workers in the North Kivu province are set to vaccinate some 87 578 children aged between six and fiftynine months.

The weeklong campaign which started on May 20 will target pre-selected localities. If families are unable to reach those sites they should be visited by the vaccination teams.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease. Measles, also highly contagious, is serious disease caused by a virus. Both are particularly deadly among children under five.

The vaccines for the two diseases prevent deaths.

If the Immunization coverage in the Democratic Republic of Congo has progressed particularly thanks to the Mashako 2.0 plan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said this year saw a “particularly virulent" measles epidemic.

the humanitarian crisis remains very acute in the country.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, this year saw a “particularly virulent" measles epidemic.

The UN office reported 1,800 deaths due to measles last year.