United Nations agencies are set to launch a major campaign aiming to vaccinate 2.5 million children against measles in central and southern Somalia.

In a joint statement issued Monday in Nairobi, the UN children's fund UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) said the campaign will begin on Tuesday.

"Data from routine measles vaccination for 2005 indicates that less than 25 percent of infants were vaccinated before their first birthday and that Somalia has registered very low coverage for all vaccine-preventable diseases since the collapse of the central government in 1991," said John Lebga, UNICEF Somalia Project Officer for Health and Nutrition.

"Since many children have gone unvaccinated, the number of children liable to be affected has increased over the last 15 years leading to serious outbreaks of measles reported annually throughout Somalia," Lebga added.

The two UN agencies have put together a strong coalition of partners that includes local and international NGOs as well as community-based organizations to ensure the success of the campaign.

"The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and local authorities will guarantee access and security during the campaign. It will target children aged between nine months and 15 years," they said.

The agencies said the campaign that begins on Tuesday aims to enhance measles coverage throughout Somalia and to provide rapid protection to children in drought-affected areas facing famine and malnutrition.

The WHO and UNICEF said the campaign will be conducted in three phases starting with the worst-hit drought-affected regions of Gedo, Lower and Middle Jubba and Bay being covered in the first phase in March.

Somalia has one of the highest infant and under five mortality rates in the world at 132 per 1000 live births and 225 per 1000 children respectively.

Measles vaccination coverage is about 38 percent of children and the disease remains one of the leading causes of childhood deaths in Somalia.

It is estimated that approximately 8,000-12,000 children die each year due to measles, representing approximately 10 percent of all childhood deaths.

Measles infection occurs through spread of nasal and oral fluids with the first symptoms after an incubation period of seven to 14 days being fever, nasal discharge, and redness of the eyes.

Source: Xinhua