Success Story

Tamara’s daughter is treated by mobile medical team physician

With USDA funding, VRF partnered with the Georgian Ministry of Health (MOH) to create a nation-wide measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination program. Worldwide, measles is the leading cause of death in young children killing over 200,000 children annually. Rubella can cause blindness , deafness, and other neurological damage in newborns of women who contracted the disease during pregnancy. The MMR vaccination program in Georgia is part of a worldwide effort to eliminate these serious diseases. As of April 2009, 664,823 children in Georgia had been vaccinated against MMR The nationwide vaccination coverage rates have risen to above 90% - a huge increase from the 60% coverage rate for measles at the time the MMR program was launched. Now the Georgian government, convinced of the importance of routine MMR vaccination, has announced that it is assuming full financial responsibility for the program as of this year, thereby ensuring its sustainability. One of the main reasons for the effectiveness of the MMR vaccination program are the mobile medical teams, which make medical care accessible to children in remote parts of the country – children like Tamara’s 8-month old daughter, who was having health problems. Tamara and her daughter live in a remote village in Adjara near the Black Sea. VRF and the MOH created mobile medical teams to vaccinate individuals with limited access to healthcare. The teams are composed of doctors who provide free vaccination, medical examinations, check-ups and medications. With improved access to healthcare, Tamara’s daughter is on her way to better health - and the country of Georgia is virtually free of measles and rubella for the first time in its history.