children each year, against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). Together RVF and UNICEF cover 100% of the annual national requirement for the MMR vaccine, each organization supplies 50% of the total required doses, while the MOH provides the human resources to implement the program.

Below is a vaccination chart that provides detailed information on vaccination progress including size and age of cohorts and accomplishments to date.

In addition to the vaccine, RVF and UNICEF provide safe injection supplies in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, such as AD (auto-destruct) syringes and safety boxes for the proper disposal of used syringes. By 2010 the MOH will assume responsibility for financing the program.

Due to the breakdown of its routine immunization program for children in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the population of Armenia is susceptible to large outbreaks against such vaccine-preventable diseases as measles and rubella. A robust routine immunization program against MMR for children is an essential step in preventing these serious infections throughout the country.

The routine immunization program against MMR is part of a national strategy to eliminate measles and prevent congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in Armenia by the year 2010, which in turn is part of the strategy of WHO to achieve the same goals throughout the European region by 2010.

The vaccination program in Armenia is modeled after similar RVF children's vaccination programs in Russia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, with the ultimate aim of achieving sustainability by building capacity at the local level. The RVF strictly avoids creating parallel structures. Thus, under an agreement between the RVF and the MOH of Armenia, the vaccination program in Armenia is being carried out entirely by local public health personnel. Local RVF reps monitor the implementation of the program through regular site visits to vaccination venues and vaccine storage facilities throughout the country and by reviewing monthly vaccination coverage reports submitted by the MOH.

The RVF's material contribution to the program is made possible by a grant from the United States Department of State and a donation from the Canadian Charities: Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief, the Escarpment Biosphere Foundation, and Universal Aide Society, made possible by Meoroth of Canada, and CK Fund of Toronto, Canada with support from the Alberta Distribution Relief Agency - Adventist Society International, the Living Waters Ministry, and Phoenix Community Works Foundation.

To accelerate the epidemiologic impact of the routine MMR program in Armenia , the RVF partnered with the Armenian MOH, WHO, UNICEF and the Ani & Narod Memorial Fund (ANMF) to conduct a mass immunization campaign against measles and rubella throughout the country in October 2007. Approximately 924,000 individuals between the ages of 6 – 27 years were vaccinated over a period of 3 – 4 weeks. The campaign was launched October 1, 2007. Following the completion of the mass immunization campaign, the ongoing routine MMR program will enable the country to continue to be free of measles and CRS.