Kenya has restarted its vaccination programme in an effort to tackle the re-emergence of measles, which has surged in the country during the Covid restrictions.

A 10-day campaign against highly contagious measles and rubella has begun to target 4 million children aged nine months to five years in 22 of Kenya’s 47 counties where outbreaks are highest.

Measles is the “third most common cause of deaths among children from vaccine-preventable diseases”, the health ministry said. In 2020, only 85% of children in the east African country had received the first dose of the vaccine and less than 50% had had the second.

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