DILI, 24 july 2023 (TATOLI) – The Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to Timor-Leste, Arvind Mathur, announced on 22 july during the celebration of Timor-Leste’s National Health Day that the country has eliminated rubella.
Mathur made the announcement following the World Health Organization South-East Asia Region certified Timor-Leste and Bhutan as rubella-free countries, on june 21.
The certification was issued following the recommendations made by the Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination which met in Bangkok, Thailand, in june, after reviewing the data provided by Bhutan and Timor-Leste, concluded that the two countries had interrupted transmission of endemic rubella virus for more than 36 months.
“I have the honor to announce that Timor-Leste has been certified for eliminating endemic rubella in 2023. My heartiest congratulations,” Mathur announced during the celebration of the National Health Day, in Latuem Municipality, on saturday.
He said: “The success can be credited to the strong government’s leadership and steadfast commitment of healthcare workers and volunteers working together with partners at all levels to implement strong vaccine-preventable diseases surveillance and increase access to immunization services.”
So, Timor-Leste joined Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka as the only countries in the region to have eliminated rubella.
According to WHO, Bhutan and Timor-Leste had eliminated measles in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and now join Maldives and Sri Lanka to achieve elimination of measles and rubella by 2023, a flagship priority program of WHO South-East Asia Region.
The rubella-elimination letter issued by the World Health Organization South-East Asia Region was delivered to Health Minister, Élia dos Reis Amaral, last week.
Cautioning against the risk of virus importation, the Regional Director, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, said continued focused efforts would be needed to now implement a post-elimination sustainability plan that builds on the strategies that led to the elimination of endemic measles and rubella.
According to the WHO UNICEF estimates of national immunization coverage released on 18 july 2023, coverage with the first dose of a measles-rubella-containing vaccine in the South-East Asia Region has improved from 86% in 2021 to 92% in 2022 (a 6 percent increase), while coverage of 2nd dose of the vaccine has jumped from 78% in 2021 to 85% in 2022 (a 7 percent point increase).
“Rubella is a highly contagious disease that causes severe illness and irreversible birth defects in the newborns of women infected during pregnancy, but which can be prevented through vaccination,” said WHO.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
