MEASLES & MALARIA INITITATIVE

Help us eradicate these diseases.

Measles

Each year a disease barely remembered by most Americans kills nearly 454,000 people globally, and of those, 410,000 are children under the age of five. Measles deaths globally have been reduced by 48% largely due to the Measles Initiative. Measles is a leading vaccine-preventable childhood killer in the world. Millions of children still remain at risk from measles and many children, particularly under the age of five, will die from it. There is good news. Measles can be easily prevented with a simple vaccination that costs less than one dollar per child.

Launched in February 2001, the Measles Initiative is a long-term commitment to control measles deaths starting in Africa by vaccinating at-risk children 15 years old and younger. Leading this effort are the American Red Cross, United Nations Foundation, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Other key players in the fight against measles include the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and countries and governments affected by measles.

As of the end of 2005, the Measles Initiative has vaccinated 213 million children in more than 40 African countries, saving more than 1.2 million lives. Because of the Measles Initiative’s success in Africa, the program has expanded into Asia, where the measles burden remains high. With your help, the Red Cross and its partners hope to reduce measles deaths around the world by 90% by 2010. The project will focus heavily on India, Pakistan, and Nigeria where a majority of measles deaths occur.

Malaria

Malaria kills 3,000 children every day and claims almost a million lives a year in Africa. Yet malaria can be prevented and treated.

The American Red Cross has recently 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 help end malaria deaths. It supports a comprehensive approach to the problem through education, prevention and treatment.

The announcement of our partnership will officially be made the morning of Thursday, December 14, at the White House Summit on Malaria, hosted by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. The summit has been called to discuss and highlight measures for combating malaria.

Every 30 seconds a child dies of Malaria in Africa.

Through the Measles Initiative, the American Red Cross has helped give 24 million free bed nets to families through vaccination campaigns in 18 countries, saving an estimated 577,000 lives. The Malaria No More partnership will complement and scale-up malaria prevention work already begun through the American Red Cross-led Measles Initiative.

With support from Malaria No More, the American Red Cross, alongside our partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, plans to mobilize 50,000 trained, local volunteers and workers in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2007 and 2008 who will teach more than 10 million people about malaria control, including the proper use of bed nets, the elimination of mosquitoes and the need to seek prompt treatment when symptoms first appear. “Hang-up” and “Keep-Up” programs encourage people to continue to use the nets properly and consistently, and are now underway in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Niger and Togo, and are coming soon to Sierra Leone, Uganda and Indonesia.

What YOU can do to Help!

Spread Awareness about the problem. Since measles and malaria are not a big problem in the United States, many people do not realize that there is a problem. Learn as much as you can about the crisis and what is being done. The donation of just one dollar prevents a child from suffering complications of this devastating disease. One dollar will pay for the vaccine, syringe, cotton balls, and education given to communities where mass immunization campaigns occur.

If you have question, ideas, or want to help, please share them with us by contacting Katrina D. Johnson at 704-378-4635 or via e-mail at JohnsonKatri@usa.redcross.org.

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