The American Red Cross Measles Initiative –
Helping to wipe out one of Africa's leading killers of children

Each year, a disease barely remembered by most Americans kills nearly one million children, a half million of those in Africa alone. This fact makes measles the single leading vaccine-preventable cause of death among children in Africa— more than AIDS, more than tuberculosis and more than malnutrition. In a place where health conditions are extremely poor, living conditions are more than difficult, and access to health care is
minimal, measles can be easily prevented with a simple vaccination.

Virtually every community in Africa is affected by measles.
• Measles attacks skin surfaces (gut, cornea, lungs) and attacks the immune system so
that children die of complications from measles such as diarrhea and pneumonia.
Measles is also the leading cause of blindness in Africa.
• Visible signs of measles include fever, rash, runny nose, cough, red eyes, red lips,
peeling of the skin, and difficulty breathing.

The Measles Initiative is a long-term commitment to control measles deaths in Africa by vaccinating 200 million children in 36 sub-Saharan countries, through both mass and follow-up campaigns, preventing 1.2 million deaths over five years.

The largest vaccination campaign to date was held during one week in Kenya. During a single week in June 2002, 13.3 million Kenyan children were vaccinated against the disease. As a result of the efforts of the Red Cross and its Measles Initiative partners,
100 percent of the country's children between nine months and 14 years received the necessary vaccinations, which saved approximately 18,000 lives.

The good news is twofold. First, measles vaccination is the most cost-effective public health intervention available for preventing deaths; it costs less than a dollar
to vaccinate a child against measles. Second, the success of the Measles Initiative and partnership strengthens other health initiatives in Africa.

Following is a glimpse inside a recent vaccination campaign in Zambia (July 2003):

‘ At Chincelebwe School, a large crowd of women and children has congregated. As Zambian Red Cross volunteers outside give instructions using megaphones, from inside the building come the wails of children as they feel the vaccinator's needle - a small price to pay for the protection they receive.

And often these children are not only being protected against measles. In an unprecedented move the campaign has integrated a number of other health initiatives. Red Cross volunteers busily administer vitamin A supplements, thus combating a leading cause of blindness in children, as well as de-worming medication to fight malnutrition.

Insecticide treated bed-nets, known as ITNs, are also being distributed to prevent malaria, another major cause of morbidity amongst African children. Most affected by malaria are the poor who live in exposed dwellings and can ill afford treatment. Never before have so many ITNs (75,000) been distributed in so short a time.

Measles and malaria are feared by common people. Chilombwa village, near the shores of Lake Mweru-Wantipa, is a typical example. When asked about the impact these diseases have had, village headman Levy Chansa replies: "They have killed enough of our young to fill another community such as our own." Indeed, the graves are so numerous that many remain unmarked.

"When a child is ill we suspect sorcery," says mother-of-four Violet Mwaba. "Sometimes the symptoms of a real disease and that of sorcery are similar. Because we cannot afford to pay for medicines we try traditional remedies first because they are most effective against sorcery. If those do not work, and we have in the meantime collected enough money, then we take our children to the clinic."

Her explanation is echoed by others in the community. This pattern of seeking medical attention later rather than sooner means that by the time a child visits a clinic it is often too late. ‘ The role of African Red Cross Society volunteers during a campaign is to go house to house spreading the word about the importance of vaccination to help combat rumors like these and make sure every child is brought to a vaccination post.

As of July 2003, the Initiative has vaccinated more than 90 million children in 16 African nations saving 272,000 lives.

The Measles Initiative is led by the American Red Cross, United Nations Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Other key players in the fight against measles include the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and countries and governments affected by measles.