Deadly diseases such as measles, tetanus and whooping cough are on the rise in Ethiopia's Tigray region after vaccination rates plunged during the civil war that broke out nearly two years ago, doctors and regional health officials say. The percentage of children in Tigray receiving routine vaccines has fallen below 10% this year, data from the Tigray Health Bureau shows, undoing years of government efforts to boost immunization rates. Measles OutbreaksHealth Minister Lia Tadesse said vaccines had been provided to Tigray this year and that more were ready to be delivered once conditions allowed. ZIMBABWE GOVERNMENT BLAMES RECENT MEASLES OUTBREAK ON RELIGIOUS GATHERINGSEthiopia's health minister Lia said 860,000 doses of measles vaccines were delivered to Tigray last December and additional doses were delivered on April 2. WFP spokesperson Claire Nevill, however, said the agency was waiting on clearances from Ethiopia's government.

Source: Ethiopian News September 20, 2022 20:08 UTC