Kosovo has the highest child vaccination rates in Europe, according to a report by the Kosovo Institute of National Health (IKSHPK), which was published in early June.
As Europe faces outbreaks of measles and other contagious diseases, the child vaccination rate in Kosovo has reached 95 percent. However, children from the most vulnerable communities - Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian - are among the 5 percent of unvaccinated children in the Southeast European country, due to poverty and a lack of information and access to health services. Although children vaccination is mandatory in Kosovo, health authorities urged parents and political leaders from all communities, particularly the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian, “to undergo vaccination in the Family Health Centers in their respective municipalities.”
Compared to other Balkan countries, only four cases of measles have been registered in Kosovo since the beginning of 2019; the neighbouring North Macedonia dealt with more than 900 cases.
In the current global context, measles are one of the main causes of death in children under the age of 5, as many parents refuse to vaccinate their children. This reluctance to vaccinate their children stem from reports published in the late 1990s that claimed that child vaccination may cause autism. However, the World Health Organization denied these claims.
Even though in 2017 more than 110,000 deaths were caused by measles all over the world, in the last 20 years their numbers have plummeted by 85 percent due to vaccination.
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