Geneva - 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. 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.
