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FILE PHOTO: A nurse administers a polio vaccination during a polio and measles vaccination program for newborn children. /Getty Images
Angola on Friday kicked off a mass vaccination campaign targeting more than one million people, the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) said.
The campaign is being led by Angola's Ministry of Health in collaboration with the W.H.O. and other partners.
The nine-day campaign will see children vaccinated against polio, measles and rubella. Vitamin A, which is vital for the functioning of the immune system and the healthy growth and development of children, will also be administered.
Angola is one of a number of countries in the continent which need to carry out quality vaccination campaigns to ensure the immunization of children as it faces challenges in preventing rare strains of vaccine-derived poliovirus from circulating.
Meanwhile, measles remains the main cause of deaths of children under-five in Angola, according to UNICEF. Thousands of children under the age of five die annually due to measles infections.
The transmission of the disease is accelerated in the southern African country by massive and continuous rural-urban migration.
This is the latest integrated vaccination campaign against polio, Vitamin A, measles and rubella in Angola. The most recent ones were conducted in September and October this year.
(With input from World Health Organization)
