 St. Louis American Thursday, December 20, 2007 The American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter recently received a donation of $3,246.05 from Morning Star Baptist Church’s Mission Possible Ministry (East St. Louis, IL) in support of the American Red Cross Measles Initiative. This support enables the Red Cross to provide lifesaving vaccinations for children throughout Africa. Each vaccine costs less than $1. The Measles Initiative – launched in 2001 as a partnership led by the American Red Cross, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Foundation – is committed to reducing measles deaths globally. The initiative supports the goal of cutting measles deaths by 90 percent by 2010 compared with estimates from 2000. During its first five years (2001-2005), the initiative was the main international supporter of mass measles immunization campaigns that led to the vaccination of more than 217 million children, predominantly in Africa. From 1999-2005, measles deaths in Africa dropped by 75 percent, from 506,000 to 126,000, largely due to the support provided by the Measles Initiative and the commitment of African governments. The Initiative also conducts “integrated child health campaigns” in which health workers provide not only measles vaccines, but also insecticide-treated nets for malaria prevention, vitamin A, de-worming medication and polio vaccines. Additional details regarding the Measles Initiative can be found at www.measlesinitiative.org. ### |