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Measles & Rubella Initiative (MRI), launched in 2001, is a long-term commitment and
partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...
among leaders in
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
and supports the goal of reducing
measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
deaths globally by 90% by 2010 compared to 2000 estimates.


Impact

Largely due to the technical and financial support of the Measles Initiative and the commitment from
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n governments, 217 million children have been vaccinated against measles and 1.2 million lives have been saved since 1999. Building on this achievement, in 2005, the Initiative has expanded its technical and financial support to countries in
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, where total measles deaths are highest outside of
sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African c ...
. Since 2001, the Measles Initiative has mobilized more than $200 million and supported more than 40 African countries and three Asian countries in implementing high-quality
measles vaccination Measles vaccine protects against becoming infected with measles. Nearly all of those who do not develop immunity after a single dose develop it after a second dose. When rate of vaccination within a population is greater than 92%, outbreaks of m ...
campaigns. As a result, global measles deaths have dropped by 48% from 871,000 in 1999 to an estimated 454,000 in 2004 thanks to improvements in routine and supplementary
immunization Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an infectious agent (known as the immunogen). When this system is exposed to molecules that are foreign to the body, called ''non-sel ...
activities. The largest reduction occurred in Africa, the region with the highest burden of the disease, where estimated measles cases and deaths dropped by 60%.About Measles Initiative
/ref>


Structure

The mechanism for the Initiative is an
American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desig ...
-led partnership with operational support to measles burdened countries. The Initiative has adopted the highly successful Rotary-led global
polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sy ...
eradication initiative as a model. Rotary's strategy was two-fold: repeated vaccination campaigns reinforced by routine vaccination. The Initiative employs a similar approach - initial mass catch-up campaigns to vaccinate every child who may be at risk with follow-up campaigns three to four years later to vaccinate children who have been born since the catch-up campaign.


Background

In February 2001, American Red Cross convened a meeting with other global healthcare organizations. American Red Cross, CDC,
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...
,
UN Foundation The United Nations Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that supports the United Nations and its activities. It was established in 1998 with a $1 billion gift to the United Nations by philanthropist Ted Turner, ...
, and
WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...
met to discuss the growing problem of measles in Africa. The organizations decided that the problem needed immediate action, especially considering that death from measles is preventable. In the battle to reduce
mortality Mortality is the state of being mortal, or susceptible to death; the opposite of immortality. Mortality may also refer to: * Fish mortality, a parameter used in fisheries population dynamics to account for the loss of fish in a fish stock throug ...
from measles, partnership is crucial because each player brings a different strength and talent to bear. WHO designs the policies and health guidelines for each country to ensure proper, safe steps are taken during immunization campaigns. UNICEF is the only organization allowed to import the vaccine into most developing countries and has a sophisticated logistics capacity as well as great stature in the country. CDC provides funding and the technical and scientific basis for the policies and advises countries on program planning. The UN Foundation provides a substantial amount of funding as well as the financial mechanisms necessary to move funds between agencies and to countries.UN Foundation Campaigns
American Red Cross provides funding and has the network of Red Cross societies around the world and the volunteers to do social mobilization, ensuring each child has a chance to be vaccinated.


Partners

The partners of Measles Initiative are: *
American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desig ...
* International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent *
United Nations Foundation The United Nations Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that supports the United Nations and its activities. It was established in 1998 with a $1 billion gift to the United Nations by philanthropist Ted Turner, ...
*
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georg ...
(CDC) *
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) *
United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...
(UNICEF) These organization endorsed a joint declaration on January 31, 2001 declaring their intent to fight measles in Africa.


References


External links


Measles Initiative
- Official website
Measles and Malaria Task Force -- information on a U.S. youth campaign

United Nations Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Measles and Rubella Initiative Health in Africa Measles