To protect them from the highly infectious measles spread, the Department of Health (DOH) on Friday, March 29, said that it is aiming to vaccinate a total of 1.3 million children in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
“We are aiming to reach 1.3 million children in BARMM,” DOH OIC Asst. Secretary and Deputy Spokesperson Dr. Albert Francis Domingo told reporters in a Viber message.
Vaccination drive vs measles
In a separate statement dated March 28, DOH said that a major immunization drive in early April will reach over 1.3 million children in the BARMM following the alarming surge in measles cases with 77 percent of the confirmed cases in the Philippines being reported from this region.
From April 1 to 12, DOH said health workers will provide lifesaving vaccines to protect against this deadly and highly contagious disease in the densely populated areas of Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, and Marawi City.
The BARMM Ministry of Health will vaccinate children in all three priority areas and subsequently, cover all other areas, with support from the Department of Health (DOH), as well as WHO and UNICEF.
With one million doses of measles vaccines for this region that UNICEF will help to buy, in response to DOH Secretary Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa's fast-track request, DOH said health workers will fan out across the region in one major round.
“They will give measles shots to children aged 6 months to 10 years,” DOH said.
UNICEF will also help procure another one million doses of measles vaccines for the rest of the country.
DOH noted that children aged 6 to 59 months will receive one dose of vitamin A, while those with confirmed cases of measles will receive two doses.
Vitamin A is a low-cost way to prevent complications from happening and boost immunity against other illnesses, DOH stressed.
“Apart from its direct effect on the body, which can be lethal, the measles virus also weakens the immune system and makes a child more vulnerable to other infectious diseases like lung, brain and ear infections, diarrhea, and blindness,” DOH noted.
The Health department pointed out that the “cost to the healthcare system as well as lost family income when caring for sick children is staggering.”
Citing PhilHealth, DOH said it may cost up to P40,000 per pneumonia case - the commonest measles complication.
On the other hand, DOH noted that it costs the government P200 to P300 to vaccinate a child with the measles vaccine. The vaccines are provided free to the population.
“There is a critical need to reach and vaccinate the children missed during routine vaccinations,” said BARMM Deputy Minister for Health Dr. Zul Qarneyn Abas.
“We have to make sure that no child is left behind in the BARMM. We have the support of many stakeholders, now it is up to us to lead in this fight against this deadly disease,” Abas added.
The need to address the measles outbreak
DOH Secretary Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa, for his part, said the Marcos Jr. Administration is “keen on ending this measles outbreak.”
“Kung sa Bagong Pilipinas, bawat buhay mahalaga, sa Bangsamoro rin - bawat bata mahalaga, (If in the new Philippines, each life is important, so it is in the Bangsamoro where every child is important),” he added.
Between January 1 and March 20 this year, DOH said the region has officially reported 592 cases of measles.
“It is generally believed that the total number of cases in the community is much more,” DOH said. Last October, Lanao del Sur activated their emergency operations centers for a measles outbreak in all health units. In the same month, Marawi City declared a measles outbreak, it added.
WHO Representative to the Philippines Dr Rui Paulo de Jesus explained that measles is probably the “most contagious disease” known to affect humans.
“It can affect anyone, though it is most common in children. Data from the current outbreak has as many as 30 per cent of the cases above 5 years of age,” he explained.
De Jesus noted that community-wide vaccination remained the “most effective” way to prevent measles. “Urgent, targeted and accelerated efforts are critical to reach all children with the necessary measles vaccine,” he added.
WHO, he said, will coordinate and collaborate with partners at global, regional, and national levels to support DOH to vaccinate all the vulnerable populations.
WHO has provided DOH with technical assistance based on global best practices for measles vaccination.
This includes recommendations on vaccination strategies, guidance on the target populations, disease surveillance, and health worker training.
Likewise, UNICEF has supported the region with vaccine procurement, deployed additional health staff, built cold chain capacity, and engaged with religious and community leaders to address hesitancy and misinformation, among other forms of support.
For UNICEF Representative to the Philippines Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov, “no child should ever die from vaccine-preventable diseases.”
Since last year, Dendevnorov noted that UNICEF has been actively supporting the accelerated prevention and outbreak response activities.
“We provided much-needed cold-chain equipment, training the health force, mobilizing religious, community and youth leaders so they can educate families on how best to protect children,” Dendevnorov said. “We are ready to step up and do whatever it takes to ensure every child is vaccinated and protected,” she added.
DOH noted that in 2023, “only 60 percent of the eligible children received their first dose of the measles vaccine” in BARMM and only “51 percent of children got a second dose.”
For the Philippines to be safe from the threat of measles, health authorities noted that 95 percent of infants must be vaccinated with two doses of measles vaccine at 9 and 12 months of age during routine childhood immunization.
“Failing this, many children grow up unprotected - only to catch measles later with protracted community transmission and periodic outbreaks,” they added.
Meanwhile, agencies are calling for more investments where needed and to maximize existing resources in vaccine supply, human resources, and social behavioral change to address this and any possible outbreaks in the future.
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