Mogadishu —The Federal Government of Somalia officially launched a vaccination campaign aimed at preventing measles, polio and pneumonia, targeting more than 3 million children across the country on May 19 2025.

The week-long campaign is being implemented jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Federal Government in collaboration with Somalia’s federal member states. It is part of a broad partnership to strengthen public health and protect vulnerable children.

In a statement, WHO said the campaign aims to safeguard children and vulnerable communities from these serious, vaccine-preventable diseases. The campaign is supported by the GAVI Alliance, which helps with childhood immunization efforts.

WHO stated that the goal of this campaign is to vaccinate 3.1 million children under the age of five to prevent measles, polio and pneumonia, diseases that pose significant health risks to Somali children.

“However, Somalia continues to face longstanding security challenges that have hampered consistent delivery of vaccinations to children and vulnerable populations,” the statement added.

WHO also noted that many health facilities in the country have been destroyed due to conflict, poverty, and climatic hardships, which further complicates efforts to fight infectious diseases. Additionally, new strains of polio remain a threat to children.