VacciNation

With the resurgence of preventable diseases currently on the rise, many governments are solving this issue by using one or a combination of the three sectors known as trisector engagement. This is where the private sector, non-profit sector, and the public sector come together and focus on an issue. Although seemingly difficult, this is surprisingly simple if all three sectors are on the same page and seeking the same end goal.

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For the disease measles, there are many different ways to handle its outbreak in the trisector. How a country goes about handling this outbreak depends on their condition and the severity of the outbreak. In Romania, the outbreak has grown to a threatening 3,400 cases. According to the Infectious Disease News article on this (1), to combat this, they had the public sector (government) lower “the age of the first MMR vaccine does from 12 months to 9 months as part of an effort to fully vaccinate children between the ages of 9 months and 9 years.”  To add onto this, it would be beneficial to also have the non-profit sector help in distributing the vaccinations in order to speed up the vaccination process and halt the spread of measles. It would also be a good idea to have a company in the private sector help in the promotion of citizens receiving vaccinations.

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Another measles outbreak is starting to recently flourish in Ghouta, Syria. According to a report by Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (2), “there has been 121 cases in the past two months compared to 50 cases in the past two years.” This may be due to the civil war currently raging here, and the fact that many hospitals have been destroyed through the conflict. Though they have yet to take action, I feel that it would be best for the Doctors Without Borders (non-profit) to step in and begin delivering measles vaccinations, for the Syrian military to protect the remaining hospitals and either postpone the use of airstrikes, or simply focus on ground combat all together to prevent any further loss of hospitals. In America, some companies could also take donations to help fund the rebuilding of hospitals, and the distribution and production of the measles vaccinations.

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In Guinea, a serious outbreak has started and has been spreading since January. According to a report by ALIMA (3), “more than 2,100 children have been infected with measles…” Currently ALIMA which is a French non-profit organization has been supporting the regional hospitals for dealing with severe cases, supplying health clinics, and has treated 53 complicated measles cases since its official outbreak in February. Although they are doing a great job on their own, having the government try to focus on educating the public on measles and other vaccine preventable diseases would be ideal. In addition to having private corporations in the local area take donations or places like walgreens in America give a vaccination shot to Guinea for every shot a customer receives as they do with the flu shots.

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Measles is a highly infectious disease that will spread like wildfire if not immediately treated and then maintained. In order for it to be prevented and to stop such outbreaks as previously mentioned, tri-sector engagement is imperative in the success of prevention. The best solution for the global prevention of Measles would be to have the local governments increase education on preventable diseases, have non-profit groups like doctors without borders and ALIMA help in the distribution of the vaccinations, and have private corporations take donations and promote giving vaccinations for the non-profit groups to distribute.
 

References:

 

1. (2017) Guinea: Measles Outbreak Continues to Spread. Retrieved from http://reliefweb.int/report/guinea/guinea-measles-outbreak-continues-spread

 

2. (2017). Measles Outbreak in Ghouta and 5 Hospital Attacks in 9 Days. Retrieved from http://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/measles-outbreak-ghouta-and-5-hospital-attacks-9-days

 

3. (2017). Measles Outbreak in Romania Grows to 3,400 cases, Threatens Region. Retrieved from http://www.healio.com/infectious-disease/vaccine-preventable-diseases/news/online/%7B6d142c09-64ca-4b02-aa95-db8f7be9c97f%7D/measles-outbreak-in-romania-grows-to-3400-cases-threatens-region?sc_trk=internalsearch