Largest Integrated
Health Campaign Ever Saves Children From
Africa’s Two Leading Killers --
Malaria and Measles
Community survey shows successful
widespread delivery of multiple health
interventions in Togo during December’s
nationwide vaccination campaign
WASHINGTON,
May 4, 2005 — During the largest
integrated health campaign ever, held
in Togo last December, more than 800,000
insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) to help
prevent malaria were distributed along
with the measles and polio vaccines and
de-worming medicine (mebendazole). The
campaign demonstrated that it is possible
to successfully implement multiple health
interventions on a national scale.
The Measles Initiative strategy supports
national vaccination campaigns for African
children during a period of up to two
weeks. Such campaigns draw mothers and
children from wide areas and offer one-stop
shopping for much needed lifesaving health
interventions for free. So far, the Initiative
has vaccinated more than 150 million children,
saving 400,000 lives. Before the Measles
Initiative began in 2001, measles killed
more than 480,000 children each year in
Africa, but because of the Initiative’s
success that number has been reduced by
half.
"There are not as many cases of measles
here, as children are now very well vaccinated
in this area thanks to the last measles
vaccination campaign," said Dr. Lawson-Hukpate,
director of social work for the Hospital
Amis des Bebes in Togo. "But we still
see a lot of malaria, in children and
adults."
Malaria kills nearly a million African
children under 5 years old each year,
more than any other single infection.
Every day 3,000 children die from the
disease; those who survive may suffer
from brain damage or paralysis. ITNs are
one of the very best ways to protect against
malaria. When the Measles Initiative began
in 2001, it offered free measles vaccines
and vitamin A during campaigns. After
proven success in reaching more than 90
percent of the targeted age group during
each campaign, the Initiative began adding
other lifesaving interventions into its
campaigns including ITNs.
ITNs
are key components in fighting death and
illness due to malaria. Malaria is the
number one cause of child mortality in
Africa, killing nearly 1 million children
below 5 years of age each year. Ninety
percent of deaths due to malaria worldwide
occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
"This
was the best Christmas present for all
children under five in Togo," said
Togo's Minister of Health, Suzanne Aho.
"But, we must protect all African
children not just the children of Togo.
This is important for all of Africa. We
hope to extract lessons learned from this
experience to share with other countries.”
The Ministry of Health deployed nearly
2,000 vaccinators and 2,500 volunteers
and provided vehicles and vaccination
sites.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) carried out a community-based, cross-sectional
survey in 12 districts in Togo one month
after the December integrated health campaign.
The survey provided data on delivery of
services during the campaign, including
measles and polio vaccinations, mebendazole
and distribution of free ITNs. The survey
is part of the evaluation of the impact
of wide-scale distribution of ITNs to
all households (HH) with young children.
There were 2,254 households interviewed,
of which, 77 percent had at least one
child less than 5 years of age for a total
of 2,599 children.
MEASLES INITIATIVE – ADD ONE
Results
in weighted analysis include:
• 96 percent of eligible children
attended the campaign
• 91 percent of eligible children
received an ITN
• 93 percent of eligible children
received a measles vaccination
• 94 percent of eligible children
received a polio vaccination
• 93 percent of eligible children
received mebendezole for de-worming
“Malaria
outbreaks are highest during the rainy
season which will start in the next few
months,” said
Dr. Mark Grabowsky, senior technical advisor
for the American Red Cross on loan from
the CDC. “An important part of ITN
distribution is not only to make sure
each family owns a net but that they know
how to hang it and make sure that in particular,
every child and pregnant woman sleeps
under it. Togolese Red Cross volunteers
will go house to house over the next few
months continuing to educate families
about proper ITN use.”
“The enthusiasm of the Togolese
health workers was overwhelming,”
said Jean Roy, senior public health advisor,
International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies. “They
knew they were giving families something
that could help their children stay healthy.”
The Measles Initiative works closely with
governments of countries affected by measles,
African communities and partners to make
sure each at-risk child is reached with
free measles vaccinations and other appropriate
health interventions.
For
the Togo campaign, significant contributions
were made by the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA), Norwegian Aid,
The Vaccine Fund, the Gates Foundation,
Vodafone Foundation, DHL, Sanofi-Synthelabs
and Vestergaard-Frandsen. The International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies, Canadian Red Cross, Norwegian
Red Cross and New Zealand Red Cross also
made important financial contributions.
Social mobilization, the process to educate
and encourage families to bring their
children to be vaccinated, is being carried
out by more than 10,000 Togolese Red Cross
volunteers, the Peace Corps and Freedom
from Hunger. In addition, Air France has
committed 90 airline tickets to the Measles
Initiative over the next two years.
Launched
in February 2001, the Measles Initiative
is a long-term commitment to control measles
deaths in Africa by vaccinating 200 million
children and preventing 1.2 million deaths
over five years. Leading this effort is
the American Red Cross, United Nations
Foundation, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), United Nations 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, the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) and countries
and governments affected by measles. While
the Measles Initiative is focused in Africa
where the majority of measles-related
deaths occur, partners also work on a
wide-range of health initiatives around
the world, including measles control and
other vaccination services outside of
Africa.
For
more information about the Measles Initiative,
log on to www.measlesinitiative.org. To
make a financial contribution, call 1-800
HELP NOW or to make a secure online donation,
log on to www.measlesinitiative.org.
