Grappling with outbreak

The Philippines is experiencing measles outbreaks in the Bangsamoro region and pertussis outbreaks in parts of Luzon and Visayas, while nearly 70 percent of provinces and cities are at high risk of polio. All three are highly infectious diseases for children.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao embarked on a Measles Outbreak Response Immunization at the beginning of the month after declaring the outbreak mid-March.

The region had already reported more than 500 measles cases prior to the start of the campaign on 1 April. This number is already half of the cases reported for almost the entire 2023 and could be much higher, troubling for a region that has great aspirations for its children and its future.

The outbreak response, extended beyond its original two-week run, saw varying levels of support by local authorities, with some experiencing governance issues, that yielded uneven vaccine coverage.

Health workers stretched to the limit suffer crippling heat from El Niño as they conduct house-to-house vaccinations. Some Bangsamoro health workers families received vaccine refusals and deferrals during the measles campaign, due to misconceptions as well as vaccine fatigue.

A year before the regional parliamentary elections, the health of thousands of Bangsamoro children hangs in the balance.

Beyond controlling the measles outbreak, routine vaccines of children such as polio and diphtheria must be administered to achieve herd immunity and improve the prospects of the Bangsamoro people.

The region has the lowest health, nutrition, education and other well-being indicators as compared to their peers in other parts of the Philippines.

“Immunization is one of the crucial components of a robust health system. On the 50th year of the Essential Program of Immunization, we’ve gone from a world where the death of at least one child was something every parent expected, to a world where every child has a chance if they get their vaccines. To stem the outbreak, we urge leaders to go to the hardest-hit communities to with their own eyes the many challenges being faced by families and health workers,” Unicef Philippines representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov said.