Vaccinators scaled Himalayan peaks in Nepal, waded through Cambodian paddy fields, canoed up the Congo River and rode camels across Somalia’s hinterlands in an effort to immunize children against measles. New data released yesterday documents the scale of their success: the global campaign against measles has saved 2.3 million lives since 1999, mostly in Africa.
Unicef and the World Health Organization reported that the goal of halving measles deaths worldwide by 2005 has been surpassed. Deaths fell 60 percent to 345,000 a year in 2005 from 873,000 in 1999.
The most comprehensive push against measles unfurled across Africa. Measles deaths there plunged even more steeply, by 75 percent, saving the lives of more than 1.6 million children.
The $300 million assault on measles was mainly financed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Canada’s International Development Agency, the American Red Cross, Ted Turner’s United Nations Foundation and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, which includes countries and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
[Excerpts of an article by Celia W. Dugger, The New York Times]
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