In Oromiya, Médecins Sans Frontières is now carrying out one of the biggest vaccination campaigns done by the medical organisation in recent months. In this part of Ethiopia, access to health care is poor, the area lacks infrastructure, medical personnel and drugs. The two districts where Médecins Sans Frontières is intervening are densely populated which promotes the transmission of measles. In these districts, Médecins Sans Frontières focuses its efforts on immunisation, treatment of patients and epidemiological surveillance.

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection which is easy to prevent, thanks to a cheap and efficient vaccine. The infection can lead to severe complications such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, malnutrition, skin lesions, conjunctivitis and vitamin A deficiency resulting eventually in blindness.

“The first day of our work in Hambella village, we treated 92 children who had measles” , continues François Calas, a member of the Médecins Sans Frontières team in Ethiopia. “Two children suffered from severe pneumonia; we treated them and they are now improving, thanks to antibiotics. We also found three malnourished children who are now slowly gaining weight. These are just some of the complications that we see in children affected by measles, complications that make it difficult for them to regain their health or survive."

Malnutrition leads to a lower immune response making a person more prone to infectious diseases like measles. In turn, measles patients are more likely to become malnourished as a consequence of their infection. Children under one year of age have the highest case fatality rate; in epidemic situations as many as one in five infected children may die.

Médecins Sans Frontières has been working in Ethiopia since 1984. At the moment, 8 international Médecins Sans Frontières staff are working in the vaccination campaign in Oromyia, together with 150 Ethiopia Médecins Sans Frontières staff.