DEATH TOLL INCREASES TO 11 IN GULMI BUS ACCIDENT Kathmandu, 9 Sept.: At least 11 died Sunday morning when a bus tumbled 100 metres off a road at Sringama of Gumli Two dozen have been injured The bus was heading for the capital. Search and rescue teams have reached the accident site. Some injured are being rushed to Palpa hospital for treatment. MORE GOVT. TO RESUME MEASELES AND RUBELLA VACCINATION CAMPAIGN IN 60 DISTRICTS Kathmandu, 9 Sept.: The government is all set to launch the second and third phases of the Measles and Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign across 60 districts in the country from September 17 and December 14 respectively, The Kathmandu Post reports. The first phase of the vaccination campaign was initiated on February 26 in 15 districts--Aacham, Baitadi, Bajhang, Bajura, Dadeldhura, Darchula, Doti, Kailali and Kanchanpur of the far-western region and Banke, Bardiya, Dang, Surkhet, Pyuthan and Rolpa of the mid-western region. According to the government, over 1.8 million children were vaccinated during the first phase. In the second phase, the government plans to vaccinate over 2.6 million children in 25 districts--9 districts of the mid-western region and 16 of the western region. Similarly, in the third phase, which will cover 19 districts of the central region and 16 of the eastern region, over 5.5 million children, from nine months to 15 years age group, will be vaccinated. Along with the MR vaccination, polio drops will also be administered to children. Dr Tara Nath Pokhrel, Director of the Child Health Division (CHD), said though the measles vaccine is administered to children under a routine government immunisation programme, there are still those who have not been immunised and likely to be exposed to health risks in the long run. “This campaign will reach the children who were not immunised during the routine programme,” Dr Pokhrel said. Giri Raj Subedi, chief of the Immunisation Section of the CHD, said that it might take a month for a district to complete the estimated immunisation coverage. This immunisation programme, which is supported by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Rotary International and Lions Club International, is part of the comprehensive multi-year plan 2011-16 under the National Immunisation Programme which has targeted the elimination of measles by 2016. According to the Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2011, 88 percent of children have currently received the measles vaccine. This vaccination programme, the largest public-health campaign to date, hopes to immunise at least 8 million children. Measles is a communicable disease marked by fever, runny nose and red eyes and is a leading cause of death among children worldwide. Rubella, also known as German measles and three-day measles, is assumed to be a mild childhood illness but can pose a serious threat to a developing foetus if a pregnant mother contracts the rubella virus. Government data estimates pregnant women as most vulnerable to rubella as every year around 1,400 children are born with disabilities owing to the disease. Nnnn