These 10 Provinces Have the Lowest Measles-Rubella Immunization Rates

According to a report from the Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the Ministry of Health, measles-rubella immunization coverage for infants in Aceh reached only 43.8% of the 101,520 infants in the province in 2021.

This figure is far below the national measles-rubella immunization coverage, which has reached 87%, and is the lowest among the 33 other provinces.

The next lowest measles-rubella immunization coverage was in West Sumatra, reaching only 60.7% of the infant population. This was followed by Papua at 62.3%, DKI Jakarta at 63.5%, and Riau at 68.9%.

Following these were Riau with 68.9% measles-rubella immunization coverage, West Papua at 70.1%, North Kalimantan at 72.2%, East Nusa Tenggara at 74.7%, West Kalimantan at 75.9%, and West Sulawesi at 77.9%.

Measles-rubella immunization is part of the complete basic immunization that must be given to infants aged 0-11 months. Besides measles-rubella, complete basic immunization consists of 1 dose of Hepatitis B, 1 dose of BCG, 3 doses of DPT-HB-HiB, 4 doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV), and 1 dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).

According to the Directorate General of P2P, immunization is a proven cost-effective preventive measure that has made a significant contribution to reducing infant and child mortality rates in Indonesia.

Immunization is also a government program aimed at increasing children's immunity to certain diseases, so that if a child is exposed to the disease, the symptoms may be milder.

Several diseases that can be prevented through immunization include hepatitis, tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles-rubella, meningitis, and pneumonia.