The Vietnamese Ministry of Health on October 4 in the central city of Da Nang launched an additional wave of vaccination against measles for 1 to 5-year-old children in all localities throughout the country.

Gaining support from the United Nations Children\'s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the campaign will be implemented until late 2010 to cover 95% of the target children in 63 provinces and cities.

It is estimated that around 7.5 million under 5-year-old children will be vaccinated and the disease will be abolished by 2012.

This is one of the most important strategies in Vietnam’s effort to fulfill its commitments to the UN-initiated Millennium Development Goals.

As of 2008, the number of measles cases recorded in Vietnam dropped by 368 times against 1984.