WHO confirms rubella eradication in Timor-Leste
On July 21st, 2023, the Southeast Asia division of the World Health Organization declared Timor-Leste as one of two countries in the region to have eradicated rubella cases on its land, the other being Bhutan.
In June, the Regional Verification Commission, a group of unbiased specialists, met in Bangkok, Thailand, and made an announcement. According to their press release, Timor-Leste and Bhutan have successfully halted rubella transmission for over three years.
In 2018, Timor-Leste and in 2017, Bhutan successfully eradicated measles. They have now joined the Maldives and Sri Lanka in achieving the goal of eradicating measles and rubella by 2023, a World Health Organization priority program in the Southeast Asia Region.
The WHO and UNICEF have acknowledged the remarkable strides made by nations in the Southeast Asia Region regarding national immunisation coverage. The initial measles-rubella vaccine dose coverage in the region rose from 86% in 2021 to 92% in 2022, indicating an improvement of 6%. Meanwhile, the second dose coverage increased from 78% in 2021 to 85% in 2022, reflecting a 7% increase.
Rubella is a very contagious illness that can result in severe health issues for infants whose mothers contracted the disease while pregnant.
