WHO urging Afghans to vaccinate children for measles following outbreak in western region

The WHO "is calling on all Afghans to vaccinate their children after a recent measles outbreak that has been made worse by severe weather that hampers access to immediate treatment as well as low immunization coverage," the U.N. News Centre reports. At least "20 children have died due to measles and pneumonia in the western provinces of Ghor and Baghdis," the news service notes (2/22). "As the outbreak has grown more serious, Afghan authorities and the WHO set up five temporary clinics and vaccinated more than 3,600 children in the outbreak zone, while treating more than 6,000 patients, health officials said," according to the Los Angeles Times' "World Now" blog (2/21).