Measles deaths have declined by a massive 90 percent in the Islamic world over the past seven years, according to a new report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). There were 96,000 deaths from measles in the region in 2000 and this dropped to 10,000 in 2007, the report says. UNICEF set a goal of reducing measles deaths by 90 percent over 10 years and this goal was met three years early in the region it call the Eastern Mediterranean, which includes such countries as Afghanistan, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, the Sudan and Qatar. “The progress that has been made shows what can be achieved through measles vaccination campaigns, but much more needs to be done,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman. “It is a tragedy that measles still kills more than 500 children a day when there is a safe, effective and inexpensive vaccine to prevent the disease.” More than 600 million children in more than 60 countries received vaccinations over the seven-year reporting period, helping reduce measles deaths by 74 per cent globally and 89 per cent in Africa, in addition to the 90 percent reduction in the Eastern Mediterranean. “This achievement is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region to combat measles,” said World Health Organization Director General Dr. Margaret Chan. “With only two years until the 2010 target date, I urge all countries affected by measles to intensify their efforts to immunize all children against the disease.” The report says that twice as many children were vaccinated in the Eastern Mediterranean region in 2007 compared with 2006.
