WHO measles elimination strategy

WHO advocates a 3 phase strategy for measles elimination. The 3 phases are:

1. Catch up – This is a nationwide campaign to vaccinate all children between the ages of 9 months and 14 years regardless of measles history or vaccination status
2. Keep up –  This is the routine vaccination schedule in which the aim is to vaccinate atleast 95% of children in each successive birth cohort
3. Follow up – It is conducted every 2-4 years after the catch up phase. All children born after the catch up phase are vaccinated.

Many countries around the world have adopted the 3 phase WHO strategy for eliminating measles and for decreasing mortality and morbidity.