Immunization

Why it is important - All key messages - Resources

Emergencies that make people flee their homes often lead to the spread of communicable diseases. Therefore, all displaced children under 15 years of age should be immediately immunized, especially for measles, at the first point of contact or settlement.

Measles is even more serious when children are malnourished or living in conditions of poor sanitation.

• Diseases like measles spread very quickly. A child with measles needs to be kept away from other children, be examined by a trained health worker and be given a high dose of vitamin A.
• When there is an outbreak of measles in an area, children should be immunized. Neighbouring areas should be alerted and children immunized.

If routine child immunization has been disrupted, a trained health worker should be consulted to complete the immunizations according to national guidelines. If the child's vaccination record is lost and the parents do not remember which vaccines the child has received, it is safe to repeat doses.