Rwanda To Roll Out Combined Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaign

“Rwanda has been so successful at fighting measles that next month it will be the first country to get donor support to move to the next stage — fighting rubella too,” the New York Times reports. “On March 11, it will hold a nationwide three-day vaccination campaign with a combined measles-rubella vaccine, hoping to reach nearly five million children up to age 14,” the newspaper adds. “The dual vaccine costs twice as much — 52 cents a dose at UNICEF prices, compared with 24 cents for measles alone,” according to the newspaper, which notes the Measles and Rubella Initiative — “a partnership of many health agencies, vaccine companies, donors and others, [and] led by the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the World Health Organization” — “will provide the vaccine and help pay for the campaign.” According to the New York Times, “More than 90 percent of Rwandan children now are vaccinated twice against measles, and cases have been near zero since 2007” (McNeil, 2/25).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.