Health Campaign to Protect Indonesian Children
Successfully Completed
More than 31 million children received measles
vaccinations
WASHINGTON,
D.C., OCTOBER 19, 2007– Responding to an
urgent and specific need in numerous provinces
throughout Indonesia, the government of Indonesia
completed an integrated health campaign on September
10, 2007, successfully protecting more than 31
million children against measles. Many children
also received other life-saving health interventions—including
polio vaccinations, vitamin A supplements, micronutrient
sprinkles, de-worming medicine, and insecticide-treated
nets to prevent malaria—that were distributed
as part of this multi-phase integrated campaign.
The Indonesian Ministry of Health began its campaign
in an effort stop the spread of measles and strengthen
the immunization system in areas affected by the
2004 tsunami. Following the tsunami, many children
in Northern Sumatra were vulnerable to diseases
due to the crowded and unclean living conditions,
along with damage to the health infrastructure.
Largely through the response of international
agencies and efforts by local communities, many
children were protected from further suffering.
“This completion of this campaign represents
a remarkable success for the children of Indonesia,”
said David Meltzer, Senior Vice President of International
Services for the American Red Cross. “This
demonstrates what can be achieved by mobilizing
the power of communities and volunteers to reach
millions of children in some of Indonesia’s
most remote areas.”
In 2004, Indonesia was identified as one of five
countries with more than one million children
unvaccinated against measles. At that time, routine
immunization coverage was approximately 70 percent
and an estimated 30,000 children died from complications
caused by measles each year. Being the world’s
fourth most populous nation, the high coverage
attained in Indonesia are an important step toward
the global goal of reducing measles deaths by
90 percent by 2010 (compared with 2000 figures).
This campaign was led by the government of Indonesia,
with financial and technical support from the
Measles Initiative—a partnership led by
the American Red Cross, U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, UN Foundation, UNICEF
and the World Health Organization. Largely through
the commitment of national governments and support
from the Measles Initiative, measles deaths were
reduced by more than 60 percent globally between
1999 and 2005. This surpassed the global goal
of reducing measles deaths by more than 50 percent
by 2005 (compared to 1999).
"This campaign offered not only a chance
to protect children against measles, but other
deadly conditions such as malaria and micro-nutrient
deficiencies. In fact, this campaign was the first
time for many families to receive a package of
health services.,” said Dr. Gianfranco Rotigliano,
UNICEF Country Representative. “It also
shows that all sectors of the Indonesian government,
the Measles Initiative, and other partners could
work together to achieve a common goal in preventing
the death of children.”
In addition to measles vaccinations, over two
million insecticide-treated nets were distributed
in 27 high malaria endemic districts in eight
provinces. Before the campaign, only 1.9 percent
of children slept under the anti-malaria nets.
Now, an estimated 80 percent of children are sleeping
under the protective nets in these districts.
More than 21 million children were vaccinated
against polio. Since February 2006, no confirmed
wild polio virus cases have been detected. By
delivering multiple interventions at the same
time, integrated campaigns are cost-effective
and increase coverage rates to reach more children.
To support the measles vaccination campaign, training
was provided to middle-level managers and health
workers, cold chain equipment in needy health
centres was improved and the monitoring system
for management of adverse events following immunization
was strengthened. External monitors present during
the vaccination campaigns revealed that the safety
and quality of immunization practices have improved
over the multi-phased campaign. Considerable efforts
are underway to strengthen measles surveillance
with other vaccine-preventable diseases to monitor
the impact of the multi-phased campaign.
The Measles Initiative is a partnership committed
to reducing measles deaths globally. Launched
in 2001, the Measles Initiative—led by the
American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation,
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
UNICEF and the World Health Organization—provides
technical and financial support to governments
and communities on vaccination campaigns in all
regions of the world. To date, the Initiative
has supported the vaccination of more than 372
million children helping to reduce measles deaths
by more than 60 percent globally (compared to
1999). To learn more or make a donation, visit
www.measlesinitiative.org.
Other key players in the fight against measles
include: the Global Alliance for Vaccines and
Immunization (GAVI), Global Payments, Inc., International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,
the Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA), the Japanese Agency for Development Cooperation,
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Becton,
Dickinson and Company, the Izumi Foundation, the
Vodafone Group Foundation, the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, ExxonMobil, and countries
and governments affected by measles.
