Measles deaths halved

Dr LEE Jong-wook, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, has congratulated countries for their successful efforts in protecting children from measles.

WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today announced that countries are on target to halve deaths from measles, a vaccine-preventable killer, by the end of this year. Global measles deaths have dropped by 39%, from 873 000 in 1999 to an estimated 530 000 in 2003.The largest reduction was in Africa, where measles deaths decreased by 46%.

He congratulated countries for the remarkable progress and their successful efforts in protecting children from measles, and is certain that with increased commitment from governments and further support from the international community, even more can be accomplished.

Only a decade ago, measles killed millions of children each year and affected 30 million more, leaving many with life-long disabilities; it is an important cause of childhood deaths. Families in many countries once lived in fear of losing their children to measles, but are now protected by an effective and inexpensive vaccine, said Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF. This was clear proof of the value of investing in immunization.

This was made possible through the commitment of governments to fully implement the WHO/UNICEF strategy to eliminate measles by providing routine measles immunization coverage of at least 90% in every district and to ensure that every child from nine months to 14 years of age received a "second opportunity" for measles immunization through routine services or supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) every three to four years. The SIAs have proven especially effective. From 1999 to 2003, more than 350 million children throughout the world were vaccinated against measles through SIAs. As measles wards shut down all over the African continent, a long-term budget item in many hospitals can be freed up to save children from other diseases.

It has provided a successful model for tackling other child killers such as malaria; in late 2004, Togo’s children received four life-saving interventions at once. The campaign reached over 95% of the children under-five with vaccines to prevent measles and polio, mosquito nets to prevent malaria and de-worming tablets.

But millions of children still remain at risk from measles. Malnourished and un-immunized children under five years of age, especially infants, are at high risk of contracting measles and are more vulnerable to death. The vast majority of measles deaths are found in low-income countries. Each year more than 130 million children are born and "we must reach each and every one with measles vaccination," said Dr LEE.

The successful partnership's founding members are WHO, UNICEF, the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and their strong support of the Measles Initiative has been an important factor in the remarkable reduction of measles deaths in Africa. Launched in 2001, the Initiative has mobilized more than US $144 million and has helped African countries vaccinate over 150 million children against measles.

Other key partners include the governments of Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom as well as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.