WHO declares Sri Lanka as a 'measles-free' country

The World Health Organisation (WHO) today (Jul 9) declared in a statement that Sri Lanka has eliminated measles from the country.

“The country’s success demonstrates its commitment, and the determination of its health workforce and parents to protect children against measles,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO said.

According to the WHO, an independent verification committee had comprehensively studied Sri Lanka’s efforts towards eliminating the disease before declaring it as a 'measles-free' country.

Among the efforts was the provision of two doses of measles and rubella vaccines in the childhood immunisation programme and several mass vaccination campaigns.

“The vaccination coverage in the country has been consistently high – over 95% with both the first and second dose of measles and rubella vaccine provided to children under the routine immunization programme,” the WHO said in its press release.

However, the risk of contracting measles from surrounding countries would, however, continue to remain, the global health body cautioned.

Sri Lanka is the fourth country in WHO South-East Asia Region, after Bhutan, Maldives and Timor-Leste, to eliminate measles and control rubella, the WHO noted.