12 Oct 2006

Vanuatu health officials happy with measles vaccination exercise

7:13 pm on 12 October 2006

The Vanuatu health department says its efforts to immunise children between one and 12 years of age for measles have been a success.

The killer disease is among the main causes of child mortality in Vanuatu.

Health workers visited most homes in rural communities to ensure the success of the campaign.

The assistant national coordinator, Maleb Anicet, says statistics confirm all schoolchildren in Vanuatu have now been vaccinated.

However, health workers say some children in rural parts of Santo could have missed out on the immunisation because families are often not permanently settled, making an immunisation campaign difficult.