MSF vaccinates more than 4500 children in the first round of a campaign against common communicable diseases in the refugee camp of Mbera

Between July and October 2018, MSF teams Mauritania, have conducted a multi-antigen vaccination campaign in coordination with national health authorities to immunize more than 8000 children livigin in Mbera refugee camp and the surrounding districts. The campaign targeted children between 0 and 5 years old and women of reproductive age against the common preventable diseases, including poliomyelitis, tetanus, diphtheria, as well as pneumococcus, rotavirus or haemofilus infections, etc.

According to a survey conducted in January this year, 37% of the children in Mbera refugee camp and 42% of the children in the close districts were not adequately immunized against these diseases. The same survey has shown that four out of five women in Mbera camp and even a smaller percentage of women in the surrounding areas didn’t receive the five doses necessary to be protect from tetanus both, the mother and the baby, dramatically increasing the risk of mortality for newborns.

The vaccination campaign was conducted in two rounds: the first started in Mid-July and lasted for one month, while the second started in mid-September and ended at the beginning of October. Thirteen mobile teams composed by six people each, conducted the vaccination in several health centers in Mbera refugee camp and the districts of Bassikounou and Fassala at the border with Mali.

After 6 years of presence in the country, MSF has decided to hand over its activities to other national and international partners by the end of 2018, so this vaccination is particularly important to leave the region with the highest possible coverage against preventable communicable diseases.

MSF started its intervention in Mauritania to respond to the emergency created by the flow of refugees coming from Mali after the war of 2012, and continued to provide medical and humanitarian care in the camp in the post emergency phase. MSF will hand over its medical activities, including primary and emergency healthcare, as well as specialized reproductive health , for the refugees in the camp and the host communities in nearby Bassikounou and Fassala.

The Mbera camp hosts at the moment 50,000 refugees, who remained there for fear of returning to Mali where the situation is not perceived safe to rebuild their life.