Uganda Launches Five-Day Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaign for Children

What the report says

Uganda has begun a five-day measles-rubella vaccination campaign for children aged nine months to five years, according to Nile Post. The Ministry of Health says the drive is meant to narrow gaps in immunisation coverage and respond to reported measles cases in different parts of the country.

The campaign runs from October 1 to October 5 and is being delivered through health centres and temporary vaccination points set up in communities. Parents and guardians are being asked to bring eligible children for the free vaccine, including those who may already have received routine measles shots.

The ministry says Uganda routinely vaccinates children against 14 diseases, but uptake of the second measles dose has been weaker than the first. In the routine schedule, children receive the first dose at nine months and the second at 18 months, yet fewer families return for the follow-up jab.

Health officials say closing that gap is important because measles cases and some child deaths have been reported in the country. More broadly, the campaign fits into Uganda’s wider effort to strengthen childhood immunisation and reduce the risk of outbreaks. As a general public-health context, measles-rubella campaigns are commonly used in countries with uneven vaccine coverage to quickly raise protection in young children.