India receives ‘Measles and Rubella Champion’ award for disease prevention

India has been bestowed with the prestigious ‘Measles and Rubella Champion Award’ by the Measles and Rubella Partnership at the American Red Cross Headquarters in Washington, DC, US in recognition of the country’s tireless efforts to combat these diseases.
The award was received on March 6th. Ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Washington, DC, received the award on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
“The Measles and Rubella Partnership comprises a multi-agency planning committee, including the American Red Cross, BMGF, GAVI, US CDC, UNF, UNICEF, and WHO, all dedicated to reducing global measles deaths and preventing rubella illness,” as per a Ministry of Health and Family Welfare press release.
This accolade celebrates India’s unwavering commitment to public health and its outstanding leadership in curbing the spread of these infectious diseases among children.
It further recognizes India for providing regional leadership to the measles & rubella elimination programme by using ‘measles as a tracer’ to strengthen routine immunization under the country’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP).
“Despite facing numerous challenges, India has demonstrated remarkable progress in reducing measles and rubella cases and preventing outbreaks through a series of comprehensive interventions,” the release stated.
The Government of India’s proactive MR vaccination campaign in high-risk areas and innovative strategies to reach underserved populations, robust surveillance systems, and effective public-awareness initiatives have played a key role in safeguarding the health and well-being of its population.
“The award is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the country’s frontline health workers, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and communities across the nation. These efforts have resulted in 50 districts consistently not witnessing any measles cases, while 226 districts have not reported rubella cases over the past 12 months,” as per the release.
Measles and Rubella are vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) and MR Vaccine has been part of India’s Universal Immunization Programme since 2017. The government of India is working towards eliminating measles and rubella from the country