Red Cross exceeds goal of halving measles death rate

NEWTON - The American Red Cross (ARC) and its global partners have exceeded the United Nations goal of halving measles deaths between 1999 and 2005. Measles deaths have fallen by 60 percent worldwide since 1999, a major public health success, according to the Measles Initiative partners, which include the ARC, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations Foundation, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO). According to new data from WHO, global measles deaths fell from an estimated 873,000 deaths in 1999 to 345,000 in 2005. In Africa, the progress has been even greater, with deaths falling by 75 percent, from an estimated 506,000 to 126,000. “One of the clearest messages from this achievement is that with the right strategies and a strong partnership of committed governments and organizations, you can rapidly reduce child deaths in developing countries,” said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of CDC. “How could we deny the gift—and the right—of growing up to millions of children?” said Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman of the American Red Cross. “Today, more than 100,000 Red Cross volunteers are delivering that gift in Africa alone. Thanks to the great generosity of our donors and partners, entire communities have been reached with lifesaving health information, saved from the pain of measles by neighbors who care enough to encourage them to get vaccinated. We see children in America willing to share their allowance money with their unseen neighbors in Africa, neighbors they will never know. The American Red Cross is proud to be part of a mission where so many young lives have been saved … and we look forward to saving millions more.” While the Measles Initiative continues, McElveen-Hunter no doubt also had in mind the new Red Cross initiative, Malaria No More, a similar public-private partnership designed to attach and reduce the impact of malaria on children throughout Africa. Malaria kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds—more than a million children a year, and the Red Cross and its partners are determined to bring a halt to the devastation caused by what is, after all, a preventable disease. The Red Cross plans to dedicate the efforts of 50,000 volunteers in Africa alone to this new malaria initiative. “African children are dying from a disease Americans can help prevent,” the White House commented at the inauguration of the Malaria No More Initiative last month. It helps explain why the American Red Cross has become a founding partner of Malaria No More, a non-profit network of organizations in the United States and globally whose mission is to ignite a grassroots movement of individuals and private sector institutions that will end malaria deaths, through education, prevention, and treatment. For more information, contact Ron Marin, director of Programs & Services, at the Sussex County Chapter of the American Red Cross, 93 Spring Street in Newton. His telephone number is 973-579-1600 ext. 25; e-mail is rmarin@sussexredcross.org; or visit online at www.sussexredcross.org.