by Kimberly Pratt, as published in the St. Louis American

Measles is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable death among children in the world. Without treatment, children can die, or if they do recover, permanent disabilities such as blindness can result.

The disease has been hard to combat in Africa for the following reasons: It is highly contagious (called the "disease of the wind"), children's immune systems are weak, many are malnourished, living conditions are poor and there is a lack of access to affordable vaccinations.

Before 1963, the United States reported over 700,000 measles cases. The number soon decreased to 100,000 because Dr. Samuel Katz and his team developed the measles vaccine. Currently, only isolated cases are reported in the United States because of the accessibility of vaccinations.

In comparison, over 454,000 children die globally from measles - stated simply, one child dies almost every minute. Half of these deaths occur in Africa, but virtually every community on the continent is affected by measles. Until recently, the lack of access has prevented children in rural areas from receiving vaccinations. This is particularly hard to understand since measles is vaccine-preventable.

To combat the growing number of deaths caused by measles, the American Red Cross, CDC, UNICEF, UN Foundation, and WHO gathered in a historic meeting in February 2001 to discuss a plan of action. The organizations realized that only by working together and relying on each organization's strengths could they ensure that each child had a chance to be vaccinated. The Measles Initiative outlined a plan to continue surveillance of the disease, while implementing mass vaccinations and follow-up campaigns.

In the beginning stages of the Measles Initiative, an estimated 38 million children under five were at risk and 282,000 children died from measles in Africa alone. For reasons such as these, the Measles Initiative committed to vaccinating 200 million children in Africa by 2005. The results are impressive: since 2001, 40 countries in Africa have held vaccination campaigns and over 213 million children have been vaccinated. This outreach is linked to a 60 percent drop in measles cases and deaths since 1999.

The initiative has also helped to prevent other diseases by simultaneously providing insecticide-treated bed-nets for malaria prevention, Vitamin A, de-worming medication and polio vaccines in some campaigns. The Measles Initiative partners have committed to expanding efforts into South Asia with a new global goal to reduce measles deaths by 90 percent by 2010.

The hundreds of millions of measles vaccinations provided to children since 2001 was made possible through the generous public support and the mobilization of African community medical staff and volunteers. Each vaccination costs less than one dollar.

From local contributions, the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter has provided over 8,000 measles vaccinations to children in Africa. For more information about the Measles Initiative, or fundraising projects in schools and faith-based organizations, please contact Kathy Lass at the St. Louis Area Chapter at 314.516.2737.