The Measles Initiative

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The Measles Initiative
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Outline of Presentation

• Why are we fighting measles?
• What is American Red Cross doing?
• Will our solution work?
• How much does it cost?
• Learning about it, raising money for it, and
  finding partners to help us.

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Diseases that cause children in Africa to die
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How does measles affect children in Africa?

• 450,000 children die of measles in Africa every
  year.
• Measles is the leading cause of death among
  unvaccinated children.
• There has been very little progress with measles
  control in Africa since 1990.

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What is measles?

• It is the most contagious disease known to man.
• It is transmitted by air person-to-person.
• The virus attacks the skin.
• There is a very effective vaccine, but no
  specific treatment.

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Severe Measles in Africa
Encephalitis
Blindness
Stomatitis
Throat infections
Pneumonia
Diarrhea
Source D. Morley, Proc Roy Soc Med 1974 674-7.
Measles attacks all skin surfaces, including the
eyes. It is the leading cause of blindness in
Africa.
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Children in Africa dont have to suffer from
measles.

• A vaccine against measles was invented in 1963.
  A vaccine is a shot that protects children from
  certain bacteria or viruses.
• Most children in Africa are poor or do not have
  access to good medical care.
• American Red Cross is helping all children in
  Africa to be vaccinated against measles.

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Typical banner used to encourage mothers to have
their children immunized
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Typical vaccination post at schoolhouse
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Red Cross volunteers teaching villages about
measles and vaccination. Youth help by creating
Red Cross youth clubs in school.
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Red Cross volunteers go house-to-house to teach
about measles and make sure all children get
vaccinated.
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After doing a survey with parents, Red Cross
learned the following 15 of parents reported
that they have had a child die of measles. 93 of
parents were visited by Red Cross during a
campaign.
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Children parade in Tanzania to teach about
measles vaccination.
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The first meeting for the Measles Initiative
included leaders from American Red Cross, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, United
Nations Childrens Foundation, World Health
Organization, and United Nations Foundation.
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Measles Initiative Partners

• All of these organizations are working together,
  using their own strengths, to fight measles in
  Africa.
• Measles Initiative hopes that by 2005, every
  child in Africa will have been vaccinated (220
  million).
• If this happens, 1.2 million childrens lives
  will be saved from measles.

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Measles Campaigns in Africa by Year, 1997-2002
Year
1997
2001
2001/2
2002
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American Red Cross workers help at measles
vaccination campaigns in Uganda and Ghana.
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This devil says MY name is MEASLES! in a play
to teach children that measles can kill
This girl in Kenya holds up her immunization card
Stickers are sometimes given out that say
Immunized
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How much does it cost to vaccinate children in
Africa?

• It costs less than 1 to vaccinate a child in
  Africa against measles.
• 1 will buy the measles vaccine, supplies,
  materials, and food for the workers and
  volunteers during a mass measles vaccination
  campaign.

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Measles Initiative

• Goal - Prevent children in Africa from dying of
  measles.
• Strategy - Get more support for mass measles
  campaigns.
• Mechanism - Red Cross will lead the fight with
  support from partners.
• Partners - WHO, CDC, UN Foundation, UNICEF
• Cost - 200 million over 5 years
• Impact - Prevent 1.2 million children from dying.

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How you can help

• To learn more about the Measles Initiative
• www.measlesinitiative.org
• Create a fundraiser at your school
• Tell your parents what you know about
• measles
• Become a youth volunteer at your local Red Cross
  chapter
• Learn more about Red Cross
• www.redcross.org