United Nations Radio

Lebanon began an anti-measles and anti-rubella campaign today with the goal of targeting 900,000 children.

This is in line with the country's commitment to the UNICEF and World Health Organization strategy to eliminate the disease by the end of 2010.

The campaign will target children from nine months to 14 years of age in two phases. The first phase runs from today until April 12th and aims to reach children in educational institutions and nurseries. The second phase, from April 29th to May 3rd , will focus on children missed in the first round. Vaccinations will be carried out in over 3,000 public and private schools. In the run-up to the campaign, UNICEF undertook a comprehensive media awareness programme among the population to highlight the importance of vaccinations.