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Benin Launches Measles Vaccination Campaign
Written by
Lesly C. Simmons
, Staff Writer, RedCross.org
Monday, December 19, 2005 — COTONOU, Benin—The country of Benin welcomed partners and guests from around the world at a major launch ceremony Monday Dec. 12 to mark the start of their nationwide measles vaccination campaign, which will reach 1 million children with the vaccine in five days.
At a large and lively ceremony in the town of Tori-Bossito, hundreds of area residents gathered to see dignitaries including the local officials and the country’s Minister of Health offer their encouragement to the campaign and thank families for understanding the need to vaccinate children.
A campaign worker with Benin’s Ministry of Health prepares one of the first shots for the 2005 measles vaccination campaign. (Photo Credit: Lesly Simmons/American Red Cross) |
“Our people have a right to public health,” said Dr. Dorothée A. Kinde-Gazard, Benin’s Minister of Health. In November and December the country also completed a campaign against polio, which she said shows the country’s commitment to the health of its people.
The American Red Cross has a delegation of observers visiting Benin to show their support for the country’s latest campaign and to mark the fifth successful year of the Measles Initiative, which has successfully vaccinated 200 million children in more than 40 countries since its inception in 2001.
“At the completion of the five year point, we are ahead of schedule, exceeding target goals and are under budget,” said Dr. Mark Grabowsky, senior technical advisor for the Measles Initiative, at a briefing for members of the American Red Cross delegation.
Grabowsky attributes the Initiative’s success to its business-style structure, modeled on successful business practices.
“We knew what we wanted to do, and we brought the best together that we could get to support it,” he said. As a result, the Initiative is a combination of major partners from around the world including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the UN Foundation, among others.
“Any cost to someone who is very poor is potentially impoverishing,” said Grabowsky, so the campaign has added additional public health interventions to each campaign to make the value worth the costs, in terms of both time and money. All health interventions are distributed free of charge to African families. In Benin, for example, children ages 9 months to five years old will receive vitamin A to boost immune systems, and mebendazole to protect against intestinal worms. In some previous campaigns in other countries, people have also received bednets to protect against malaria.
School children line the street to welcome VIPs arriving at the launch ceremony in Tori-Bossito. (Photo credit: Daniel Cima/American Red Cross) |
Benin’s Ministry of Health also recently completed a vaccination campaign against polio.
Partners Support Initiative Mission
Additional support for the campaign came in many forms, including the work of DeMoine and Joyce Findlay of British Columbia, Canada. On a special assignment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the couple arrived in Benin two months early to support local social mobilization efforts by developing the promotional materials needed to advertise the campaign.
The couple produced 25,000 brochures, 5,000 posters, and 30 oversized banners, in addition to radio and television spots. When the materials were complete the Findlay’s handed them over to the Ministry of Health, who distributed them around the country.
“[The Ministry of Health] told us what they needed, and we were happy to create it,” said DeMoine Findlay, who provided similar support for a campaign earlier this year in the Ivory Coast. “Once this is all done, we’ll just head back to Canada and wait for the next assignment.”
The Measles Initiative is a partnership committed to reducing measles deaths globally. Launched in 2001, the Initiative—led by the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the World Health Organization—provides technical and financial support to governments and communities on vaccination campaigns worldwide. To date, the Initiative has supported the vaccination of more than 500 million children in 50 countries helping reduce measles deaths by more than 68% globally and 91% in Africa (compared to 2000). To learn more or make a donation, visit www.measlesinitiative.org.
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