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Africa leads the way in cutting measles deaths
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 29 - 11 - 2007


Measles deaths in Africa plunged by 91 per cent in
the six years to 2006 from an estimated 396,000 to 36,000, according
to new figures published by the UN-led Measles Initiative Thursday, according to dpa.
The decline in deaths meant UN goals to achieve a 90-per-cent
reduction in Africa by 2010 had been reached four years early.
The spectacular success in Africa underpinned a strong global
reduction in deaths of 68 per cent from an estimated 757,000 to
242,000 between 2000 and 2006.
The figures were published jointly by UN organizations, including
the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, along with the
American Red Cross which helped found the Measles Initiative in 2001.
"This is a major public health success and a tribute to the
commitment of countries in the African region," WHO Director-General
Margaret Chan said, adding, "We need to sustain this success and
intensify our efforts in other parts of the world, as there are still
far too many lives lost to this disease."
In a joint statement the health partnership said the decline in
measles deaths in Africa was a result of the firm commitment of
national governments to vaccinate all children under the age of one
against measles and carry out mass vaccination campaigns.
From 2000 to 2006, an estimated 478 million children aged nine
months to 14 years received measles vaccines through campaigns in 46
out of the 47 priority countries severely affected by the disease.
In 2006, global routine measles vaccination coverage reached an
estimated 80 per cent for the first time, up from 72 per cent in
2000.
However, there was still a lot of work to be done in countries
such as India and Pakistan with high measles mortality rates.
Currently, about 74 per cent of measles deaths globally occur in
South Asia.
Since its launch in 2001, the Measles Initiative has supported
vaccination efforts in over 50 countries.


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