WHO AIMS TO ERADICATE MEASLES WORLDWIDE
Baku, May 22 (AZERTAC). The 193-member World Health Assembly has agreed to work for the global eradication of measles. The assembly, which wraps up its annual meeting Friday, says these goals are achievable, but, agrees a long and determined commitment by states is needed to be successful.
The World Health Organization says much progress has been made in cutting deaths from measles. But, it says wiping this deadly disease from the face of the earth poses a formidable challenge.
Given the difficulties ahead, the World Health Assembly approved a resolution to eradicate measles worldwide, but set no target date for achieving this goal.
Instead, medical officer in WHO`s Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, Peter Strebel, says the assembly endorsed a series of interim targets as milestones toward this end.
"These targets are set for 2015 and are to achieve at least 90 percent measles vaccination coverage nationally and 80 percent coverage in every district, reduce measles cases to less than five per million population, reduce measles mortality by 95 percent compared to 2000 levels," Strebel said.
U.N. health agencies have made huge strides in reducing the number of children dying from measles. Measles deaths among children under five years of age have fallen by 89 percent from more than one million to 118,000 in 2008. The biggest successes have been made in Africa.
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