Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) launched a 5-day-long and free of charge vaccination campaign against measles and polio, targeting children of all nationalities below 15 years of age residing in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila and adjacent neighborhood, Sabra in South Beirut.

The campaign was kicked off on Thursday, March 15 in three different locations in Shatila and Sabra, and in collaboration with the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

MSF decided to intervene after it witnessed an increase in the number of measles cases among the children in its primary healthcare centre in Shatila. Since the third week of January 2018 up until the date of the campaign, 33 cases were registered, out of which 19 were confirmed.

Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus, and its effects can be of grave danger especially among children. It can easily be transmitted from one person to another, specifically in crowded areas where children have not received their vaccines.

MSF’s main objective was to reduce the morbidity/mortality linked to measles through patient management, and limit the expansion of the epidemic in South Beirut.