Liberia has recently launched a nationwide vaccination campaign in hopes of curbing the recent measles outbreak that has erupted since January of this year. Yes, you read that correctly. Measles. Not Ebola. 

The good news is, Liberia is now Ebola free. Which is amazing. The bad news is, because so much attention was needed to end the Ebola outbreak, which killed more than 4,600 people in Liberia including 189 health care workers, routine immunizations for other diseases were largely ignored. And now the country faces a new problem. 

Unfortunately, measles isn’t the only disease to make a comeback as a result of Liberia’s focus on eradicating Ebola. Whooping cough has also reportedly come back into the picture, affecting nearly 500 children so far.   

According to an NPR article on the subject, the government’s top priorities right now are to rebuild its health care system and to restore its immunization programs. Which is why the Ministry of Health has launched a campaign to reach 700,000 children aged five years and younger and to make sure they have their necessary immunizations. 

It’s heartbreaking that Liberia doesn’t have a moment to be joyful about tackling Ebola before the country has to refocus its efforts on alleviating the new issues that have developed.

However, these new setbacks demonstrate why routine vaccinations are so crucial. Also, this news highlights the unjust disparity between developing and developed countries’ ability to bounce back quickly from these kinds of problems. While developed countries typically have stronger health systems with adequate infrastructure, trained medical professionals, and medical equipment that allow them to manage these crises more effectively and quickly, those without take exponentially longer to recover.