India gets the prestigious ‘Measles and Rubella Champion Global Award’

India has been honored with the prestigious ‘Measles and Rubella Champion’ award on 6 March 2024. India has been given this award for its exemplary efforts in combating these diseases.

• India received recognition from 'The Measles and Rubella Partnership' at the American Red Cross Headquarters in Washington DC.

Sripriya Ranganathan received the award:

• Ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan accepted the award on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at the American Red Cross Headquarters in Washington.
• This award reaffirms India's unwavering commitment to public health and controlling the spread of these infectious diseases among children.

Measles and Rubella Vaccination under UIP:

• According to the Union Health Ministry, vaccination against measles and rubella is being done in the country under the Universal Immunization Program (UIP).
• Despite all the challenges, India has made significant progress in this direction. As a result, not a single case of measles has been reported in 50 districts in the last 12 months.
• In addition to the American Red Cross, many global organizations are working to prevent measles and rubella. In this, the following major organisations are working together to reduce deaths due to measles and prevent rubella disease at the global level.
  • BMGF
  • GAVI 
  • US CDC
  • UNF
  • UNICEF
  • WHO

About measles and rubella:

• Measles and rubella (MR) are vaccination-preventable diseases (VPDs).
• The MR vaccine has been part of the country's public immunization program since 2017.
• The Government of India has been working for many years towards eliminating measles and rubella from the country.
• In 2019, the Government of India had set the target of eliminating measles and rubella by the year 2023. Earlier its target was to be achieved by the year 2020 which could not be achieved.

About Measles:

• Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. It is the leading cause of death among young children globally.
• It is caused by single-stranded RNA viruses containing serotypes. It is classified as a member of the genus Morbillivirus of the Paramyxoviridae family.
• Measles is particularly dangerous for children from economically weaker backgrounds. Because it attacks children who are malnourished and have low immunity.
• It can cause serious complications including blindness, encephalitis, diarrhea, ear infections, and pneumonia.

About Rubella:

• It is a contagious, usually mild viral infection. It primarily affects children and young adults.
• It stems from the rubella virus, an enveloped single-stranded RNA virus.
• Rubella infection in pregnant women can cause stillbirth or birth defects in developing infants. This is called congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) which causes irreversible birth defects.