Health Protection Agency (HPA) has revealed that 99.4% of children in Maldives are administered all dozes of vaccination on birth.
Vaccination has been given great importance in Maldives and the amount of children suffering from contagious diseases have reduced by record numbers, according to HPA. The Agency added that with vaccination, several diseases have been eliminated from the country such as whooping cough and polio.
However, HPA warned that if people are negligent towards vaccination, re-emergence of such diseases is a possibility. HPA has launched numerous efforts to make Maldives the first country to eliminate measles, from the region. In that manner, HPA has been identifying people who do not vaccinate their children and conducting programs to increase awareness on the importance of vaccination. Vaccines for infants and pregnant women are provided by the state, free of charge.
Following the Maldives' national expanded programme on immunization (EPI) vaccination of infants and children were officially introduced in 1985. By the year 1988 all islands of Maldives were provided with vaccines. Under the programme, the government assured that children under the age of five, pregnant women and women of child bearing age are provided with essential vaccines.