Today, the Indian government kicked off a large-scale campaign to vaccinate 134 million children for measles. The regions targeted under the campaign at present include Assam state’s Morigaon district and Arunachal Pradesh state’s East Siang district. The campaign marks the beginning of a year-long national public and child health initiative to expand vaccination coverage to children living in a total of 14 high-risk states.
Left untreated, measles can cause pneumonia, diarrhea and encephalitis. These "secondary illnesses" are significant causes of death among children in the developing world. Measles reportedly kills 400 children around the world every day. Three-quarters of the victims are Indian.
In the 14 targeted states, India’s National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation found that there was a less than 80% rate of vaccination coverage. In an push to scale-up efforts, the government will target children who are the most vulnerable—namely those aged nine months to ten years old.
It is hoped that by increasing the number of children who receive the measles vaccine, 60 000 to 100 000 child deaths can be prevented every year, reports the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Two years ago, acting upon the advice of the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, India introduced the double-dose measles vaccine. And, according to a 2005 review of India’s progress toward the MDGs, the number of children vaccinated for measles by the time they were one year old has been increasing steadily since 1992.
With hard work, ongoing efforts to eradicate measles will help reduce India’s child mortality rate. At present, the child mortality rate (number of children dying before their fifth birthday) in India is calculated to be roughly 69 deaths per 1,000 live births. This is a great improvement from 1990, when the rate was 116 deaths per thousand live births. The infant mortality rate (number of children dying before their first birthday) is lower, but has also seen significant progress in the past twenty years.
Reducing the 1990 rate of child mortality by two-thirds is the main target of the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to Reduce Child Mortality. The MDGs are a set of benchmarks for poverty-reduction to which countries are encouraged to concentrate their development efforts. Both the infant mortality rate and the number of children aged one year old vaccinated for measles are critical indicators for measuring countries’ progress toward the fourth MDG.
As of 2008, India has reduced the child mortality rate by about 41%.
Left untreated, measles can cause pneumonia, diarrhea and encephalitis. These "secondary illnesses" are significant causes of death among children in the developing world. Measles reportedly kills 400 children around the world every day. Three-quarters of the victims are Indian.
In the 14 targeted states, India’s National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation found that there was a less than 80% rate of vaccination coverage. In an push to scale-up efforts, the government will target children who are the most vulnerable—namely those aged nine months to ten years old.
It is hoped that by increasing the number of children who receive the measles vaccine, 60 000 to 100 000 child deaths can be prevented every year, reports the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Two years ago, acting upon the advice of the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, India introduced the double-dose measles vaccine. And, according to a 2005 review of India’s progress toward the MDGs, the number of children vaccinated for measles by the time they were one year old has been increasing steadily since 1992.
With hard work, ongoing efforts to eradicate measles will help reduce India’s child mortality rate. At present, the child mortality rate (number of children dying before their fifth birthday) in India is calculated to be roughly 69 deaths per 1,000 live births. This is a great improvement from 1990, when the rate was 116 deaths per thousand live births. The infant mortality rate (number of children dying before their first birthday) is lower, but has also seen significant progress in the past twenty years.
Reducing the 1990 rate of child mortality by two-thirds is the main target of the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to Reduce Child Mortality. The MDGs are a set of benchmarks for poverty-reduction to which countries are encouraged to concentrate their development efforts. Both the infant mortality rate and the number of children aged one year old vaccinated for measles are critical indicators for measuring countries’ progress toward the fourth MDG.
As of 2008, India has reduced the child mortality rate by about 41%.