Ouagadougou: A measles and rubella response vaccination campaign has been launched in the Boromo health district following an outbreak of cases in the village of SECACO in the rural commune of Sibi. The campaign, which will take place from August 3rd to 9th throughout the Bal province, targets children aged 6 months to 10 years. Following an information and advocacy meeting, the province's high commissioner called for the vaccination of these children for improved prevention.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the chief medical officer of the Boromo health district, Dr. Hippolyte Bouda, reported that the SECACO Health and Social Promotion Center (CSPS) recorded an outbreak of measles cases in the 11th epidemiological week of 2026 with 4 suspected cases. Given the characteristics of the area that hosts the province's largest gold mining site, an investigation was launched to identify the causes of the outbreak and provide a timely response. The investigation concluded with the identification of 30 cases.
This investigation led to the development of a response plan, culminating in the organization of this campaign. The objective of this campaign is to vaccinate all children aged 6 months to 10 years against measles and rubella in the province from August 3rd to 9th, 2026. The vaccination strategy implemented to achieve better results is a fixed and outreach approach. Teams of two vaccinators and two volunteers will be stationed at health centers and other usual strategic locations to allow parents to accompany their children to the vaccination sites.
Supervisory teams travel to the various vaccination sites to ensure the availability of field agents and compliance with instructions. To this end, Dr. Bouda Hippolyte led a team of partners supporting the implementation of this campaign in the village of SECACO. They observed firsthand the strong turnout of targeted children, accompanied by their parents, at the vaccination sites.
Local authorities commended the smooth progress of the campaign and called for all eligible children to be vaccinated as a means of prevention. To achieve the desired objectives, the provincial health district also organised an information and advocacy meeting on the situation of this epidemic disease under the chairmanship of the province's high commissioner, Martin Bako.
At this meeting, the health authorities invited the presidents of special delegations, the directors and heads of services, the customary and religious authorities, civil society organizations and the media. The goal is to mobilize all these stakeholders around this campaign in order to better inform different social groups about the disease and the actions taken to contain it, as well as the malaria situation in the Bal province.
As a reminder, measles is a serious, highly contagious infectious disease responsible for numerous outbreaks. Rubella, on the other hand, is an infectious disease that can cause serious complications in pregnant women. Burkina Faso organizes vaccination campaigns and follow-up vaccinations with the MR vaccine every 3 to 5 years.