The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OCHA , WHO , UNOG
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Measles Outbreak Samoa - OCHA & WHO
Efforts to help the small Pacific island of Samoa overcome a deadly measles outbreak have received a $2.6 million boost from the UN’s emergency fund, CERF.
The development – announced in New York by the organisation’s emergency relief chief Mark Lowcock - comes as deaths from the preventable disease reached 70, the vast majority being children under five.
“The United Nations’ emergency response fund, the CERF, has released $2.6 million to help responders scale up and fight back against the devastating measles outbreak in Samoa,” Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday.
“As of this morning, 4,819 measles cases have been reported to the Disease Surveillance Team since the outbreak started, according to the Ministry of Health in Samoa,” Mr. Laerke added. “There were 87 cases recorded over the past 24 hours.”
Amid reports that Samoan health providers have been “overwhelmed” by the outbreak, which was declared on 15 November, the OCHA official added that the funds would be used to provide emergency vaccinations, obstetric and neonatal care for mothers and newborns infected with measles.
In addition, the funding will help to deliver mental health and psychosocial support and provide clean water and sanitation, along with public health information.
To date, more than 120 medical teams from the World Health Organization (WHO) have also deployed throughout the country to assist with the vaccination drive.
The UN has also backed another national campaign, with workers going door-to-door to promote awareness about the importance of getting inoculations.
Such moves are seen as vital to rebuilding community confidence and trust following the deaths last year of two babies during routine vaccination, amid strong anti-vaccination sentiment.
“Obviously this is a tragedy that you can have 61 child(ren) and nine other people being basically killed by a virus that is completely preventable,” said Tarik Jasarevic, WHO spokesperson.
Shortly after the outbreak was declared on 15 November, Samoan authorities launched a mass vaccination campaign, at the same time as they announced a state of emergency.
“So far, about 90 per cent of the 143,000 people it targeted have been reached, Mr. Laerke said, noting that the island nation was not alone in suffering a measles outbreak, linked to low immunisation coverage.
“By the end of November 2019, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and American Samoa have all reported measles outbreaks,” he said. “Prior to the ongoing outbreaks, measles vaccine coverage varied in Pacific island countries and areas, ranging from 31 per cent in Samoa to 99 per cent in the Cook Islands and Nauru.”
To contain the public health threat, the Government of Samoa has launched a national appeal for nearly $11 million, as it works to vaccinate its population and treat those who have already been affected.
Its youngest citizens are most at risk, OCHA said in a statement, along with pregnant women and new mothers.
- Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, sunny and windy conditions, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
- Medium shot: Press room, journalists, podium speakers.
- Medium shot: back of journalist’s head wearing listening piece in foreground, another journalist opposite with hand obscuring mouth.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Jens Laerke, spokesperson, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “The United Nations’ emergency response fund, the CERF, has released $2.6 million to help responders scale up and fight back against the devastating measles outbreak in Samoa.”
- Medium shot: journalist wearing headphones to left of shot, other journalists to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Jens Laerke, spokesperson, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “As of this morning, 4,819 measles cases have been reported to the Disease Surveillance Team since the outbreak started, according to the Ministry of Health in Samoa. There were 87 cases recorded over the past 24 hours.”
- Medium shot: journalist writing on laptop, wearing headphones, back of another journalist’s head to right of shot in close up.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO): “Obviously this is a tragedy that you can have 61 child(ren) and nine other people being basically killed by a virus that is completely preventable.”
- Medium shot: journalists typing on laptops.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Jens Laerke, spokesperson, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “The Government of Samoa, with support from the UN and the international community, launched a mass vaccination campaign on 20 November. This campaign has so far reached about 90 per cent of the 143,000 people it targeted.”
- Close up, journalist looking down.
- Medium shot: journalists typing on laptops.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Jens Laerke, spokesperson, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Prior to the ongoing outbreaks, measles vaccine coverage varied in Pacific island countries and areas, ranging from only 31 per cent in Samoa to 99 per cent in the Cook Islands and Nauru.”
- Medium shot: journalists, one reading, the other checking his mobile phone.
- Medium shot: podium with three speakers, table in foreground.
- Medium shot: journalists in foreground and to rear.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN Security Council meets amid rising Israel-Hezbollah tensions in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the biweekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson made the following remarks deplored the death in State custody of Brooklyn Rivera in Nicaragua.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Lebanon: Tyre hospital strikes leave patients without critical care – WHO
The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
El Niño confirmed, extreme weather events will be more intense, says WMO
The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘A disease you get when you care for someone’: on the frontlines of the Ebola crisis with WHO
Two weeks into the latest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimating that there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on 29 May called for more robust measures by both states and tech companies to make online platforms safer for children, insisting on effective regulation, oversight and accountability. The digital world that connects children to learning, community and creativity also expose them to real risks, to their safety, to their privacy, and to their well-being. Online harms to kids’ safety, privacy, and well-being are not innate or inevitable.
See High Commissioner video: https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d357/d3579089
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: Life-saving medicines blocked as killing continues, disease gains ground
In Gaza, a dire humanitarian situation marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of diseases is being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, warned against the continuing trend of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, in violation of international human rights and refugee law, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OHCHR
Lebanon's first responders face high risks amid conflict, with 116 killed since March.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC Ebola outbreak: hundreds of suspected cases, no vaccine
A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has health workers rushing to stop transmission while the roll out of any potential vaccine is months away, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN Human Rights Office report released today covers 19 months of large-scale violations of international law including atrocity crimes, from October 2023 to the end of May 2025.