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17 June 2002 By Andrei Neacsu in Nairobi, Kenya Today, 3,000 volunteers of the Kenya Red Cross begin a massive door-to-door campaign to help ensure that 14 million Kenyan children aged between nine months and 14 years are vaccinated against measles. The campaign aims to vaccinate 40 per cent of the population between 17-23 June. "This campaign will result in the prevention of approximately 18,000 measles deaths annually but only if all children are reached," said Kenya Red Cross secretary general, Abbas Gullet, who stressed the importance of ensuring that the campaign reaches every part of the country through organizations like the Red Cross working closely with the ministry of health and other partners. British actress and American Red Cross ambassador Jane Seymour is in Kenya to promote the vaccination drive. She is travelling with eight school children from the US during the week-long campaign. Their trip takes them to the districts of Kibera, Machakos, Masai and Nairobi where – together with Kenyan school children and Red Cross volunteers – they will mobilize communities to bring children in for vaccinations. The Kenya vaccination drive is a major effort in a campaign to rid Africa of measles, a disease which claims the lives of nearly 1 million children each year. It is part of the Measles Initiative to control measles deaths by supporting immunization services, including vaccinating 200 million children in 36 sub-Saharan countries. Children under 15 make up approximately 40 per cent of Kenya's population and the government has placed measles immunization as a top priority on its health agenda. Leaflets distributed country wide encourage communities to "locate children in hard to reach areas who have not been vaccinated before...the success of the vaccination campaign depends on the ability to vaccinate ALL children under 15 years of age." About 450,000 African children die annually of measles. Few know that measles, also known as rubella, is the leading childhood killer in the world. But this illness – which affects 44 million children around the world every year – can be prevented at a cost of less than one dollar per child. "The shocking thing is that measles is completely preventable through the administration of an inexpensive vaccine," said Dr. Bernard Morinère, senior health adviser at the Federation. "But now, with the support of this powerful alliance and local partners like the Kenya Red Cross we are on the way to ridding Africa of measles." In addition to measles vaccination, Kenya Red Cross will use this focus on health to vaccinate against maternal neonatal tetanus in three high-risk districts. The vaccine, which protects both the women and their unborn babies, will be administered to women of childbearing age, between 15 and 49 years. Also, a polio immunization campaign will take place in 11 Kenyan districts bordering Ethiopia and Somalia, where the polio virus remains endemic. The Measles Initiative is a long-term commitment to control measles deaths by supporting immunization services, including vaccinating 200 million children through mass and follow-up campaigns in up to 36 sub-Saharan countries. The Measles Initiative, launched last year, is led by the American Red Cross, the UN Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, WHO, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). African partners include the national ministries of health, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies with support from the Federation. Related Links: ARCHI 2010 - Measles in Africa More on: Kenya |
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