DUSHANBE, 25.03.2022 (NIAT Khovar) – UNICEF in collaboration with the World Bank delivered 541,000 doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to Tajikistan.

Tajikistan received the necessary volumes of drugs under an agreement between the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population and UNICEF.

The supply, valued at around $840,200, was part of the World Bank-funded TEC-19 project, set up to support the Government of Tajikistan in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program procured measles, mumps and rubella vaccines for children during the pandemic.

“Providing stop-gap funding to procure MMR vaccines is part of our broader effort to protect the essential health services from disruptions during the pandemic,” said World Bank Country Manager for Tajikistan Ozan Sevimli.

Following the agreement between the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population and UNICEF, the delivery of the MMR vaccine was organized through UNICEF Supply Division in Copenhagen.

According to UNICEF’s estimates, there were globally 169 million children missed out on the first dose of the measles vaccine between 2010 and 2017, or 21.1 million children a year on average. Widening pockets of unvaccinated children have created a pathway to the measles outbreaks hitting several countries around the world today.

Maintaining routine immunization services is vital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Immunization is one of the world’s most cost-effective public health interventions, saving millions of lives and protecting countless children from illness and disability.