KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 26

A total of 156,762 children in Lalitpur district are targeted to receive the measles-rubella vaccine under the nationwide Measles-Rubella (MR) Vaccination Campaign that kicked off last Sunday.

According to Parthamani Neupane, Immunization Officer at the District Health Office in Lalitpur, initially, children in six local government units of the district will be administered vaccines against the highly contagious and airborne diseases from 622 vaccination centres.

Neupane shared that the campaign will be launched in Konjyosom and Mahakal rural municipalities in the district from February 27.

He further informed that 159 health workers and 822 volunteers will be mobilized to ensure the campaign's success. The campaign will be conducted within all 29 wards of the LMC until March 6.

Moreover, the Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC) has a total of 92,300 children who are set to receive the measles-rubella vaccine. Sarita Maharjan, Chief of the Public Health Section at LMC, shared that 212 vaccine centres have been established within the metropolis to vaccinate children aged 9 months to 15 years.

The government of Nepal had set a target to reduce measles-rubella cases to zero by 2023. Failing to meet the target within the primary deadline, the government has extended the timeline up to 2026, stated Immunization Officer Neupane.