Somaliland Measles and Birth Registration campaign
December 2015 – January 2016
In Somaliland – only three out of every 100 babies are registered at birth. It is the right of every child to have an official birth certificate providing their name and nationality and it can provide access to education, healthcare and protection and ensure.
UNICEF supported the Somaliland authorities to pilot birth registration in November 2014 – the first Somali Government civil registration activity since the collapse of the central government in 1991. Since the inception of the current pilot project in late 2014, the target group for birth registration have been new born children who come into contact with the health system (i.e. born in a hospital) in six districts in Somaliland; Borama, Burco, Berbera, Caynabo, Gailay and Hargeisa. To date this has resulted in the registration of just over 5,300 births by the end of November 2015.
In order to boost the numbers of children registered – UNICEF is for the first time carrying out a mass campaign bringing together a measles vaccination campaign and civil registration services.
The Somaliland authorities, with health partners UNICEF and WHO are conducting the measles catch up campaign targeting over one million (1,051,054) children aged from 9 months to 9 years.
From December 24-28, all major districts (Hargeisa, Boroma, Berbera, Burao, Lasa-nood and Erigavo districts) will be covered.From December 31-January4 Gabilley, Baligubadle, Baki, Luhaya, Zeilla, Sheikh, Ainabo, Odwine, Buhodle, Huddun, Taleh, Elafweine and Badan districts will be covered.
As the measles campaign will provide access to a large number of un-registered children in Somaliland, a birth registration campaign is being undertaken in coordination with the measles vaccination campaign. The birth registration campaign will target 270,000 children.
If the coordinated approach goes to plan, this will significantly increase the number of registrations by over 50 times the current registration levels in a very short period of time.
The 1,843vaccination teams (fixed and semi mobile) are made up of two vaccinators (professional nurses) one recorder and one social mobilizer. The social mobilizer will go house to house to provide information. Drama groups will perform in four regional capitals, there will be radio and television announcements, SMS Text Messages by Telesom and Somtel, street announcements by PA-system mounted vehicles, posters and banners.
Somaliland has been hit by an outbreak of measles each year since 2013. Although the rate of vaccination has risen in the past 2 years it is still very low. A household survey in 2011 (MICS) found that only 26 per cent of children had received their measles vaccine by the recommended age of one year, and 38% by 2 years.This year, throughout Somalia there were more than 6000 cases of measles which is thought to be responsible for one in ten (12 per cent) of deaths of Somali children under the age of five.
Jamal Abdi Sarman
Jasarman@unicef.org