Ministry of Health continues successful implementation of national immunization campaign against measles

UAE, November 15, 2015 - His Excellency (H.E.) Dr. Hussain Abdulrahman Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for Health Centres and Clinics, Ministry of Health (MoH), has lauded the successful implementation of the national measles campaign. The initiative, which aims to provide free immunization against measles, has been ongoing for the last two weeks and is set to conclude at the end of this month. 

The success of the campaign is attributed to the key cooperation and strong support extended by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Affairs, NGOs and relevant stakeholders. In addition, Dr. Al Rand also commended local communities that helped in raising awareness on the importance of immunization, especially against measles. 

Dr. Al Rand said, “We commend the strong cooperation between the Ministry of Health and its partners, HAAD & DHA in making this initiative successful. We also call on all sectors of society to extend their support for this immunization campaign--as recommended by the World Health Organization and which places the UAE among the countries that have achieved high coverage in ensuring protection and safety against communicable diseases.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Nada Al Marzouqi, Acting Director of Preventive Medicine Department, MoH, said: "The campaign, which was carried out in the schools, health centers and clinics, include DPT viral MMR against measles, rubella, mumps, for children from 1 year of age to 18 years old. It’s an additional dose to raise immunity within the target population and update medical vaccines record to ensure they have the necessary vaccines.”

The Ministry has allocated toll-free number 80011111 to connect and respond to public inquiries.