ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni government launched on Saturday a national vaccination campaign to immunize over one million children against measles and rubella, the state-run Saba news agency reported.
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik officially inaugurated the 6-day emergency campaign, which targets children aged between 6 months and 59 months in 121 districts across the 13 provinces controlled by the government.
The prime minister personally administered the vaccine doses to several children at the launching event held in the southern port city of Aden.
In a statement to the media, Abdulmalik called on all citizens to support the campaign to eradicate the potentially deadly measles disease, which has made a comeback in recent years after a significant decline following previous immunization efforts.
The campaign is being implemented by Yemen's Ministry of Public Health and Population, with support from the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the GAVI vaccine alliance.
It came amidst Yemen's ongoing conflict, which broke out in late 2014 when the Houthi group seized control over much of the country's north and forced the internationally recognized government out of the capital Sanaa. The conflict has devastated the country's health system and left millions of people living on humanitarian aid.
