Global leaders intensify commitment to prevent leading childhood killer.

2003 NOV 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- By 2005, almost half a million children will be saved every year if there are expanded efforts to immunize and protect all children against measles, international health experts say.

At a landmark World Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, leading players in the fight against measles spelled out what it will take to stop 2000 children dying every day from this preventable disease. Together with UNICEF special ambassador Angelique Kidjo, they issued a call for intensified efforts and the resources necessary to ensure all children are protected against measles.

"We can do it - we've done it before - in Afghanistan, Angola, in countries devastated by conflict and drought and every other form of disaster," said Carol Bellamy, executive director, UNICEF. "In just 3 years, and against great odds, we've cut the number of children dying from measles by almost 25%. It's one of the most dramatic declines in disease mortality in history. But the next 25% will be harder. With the political and financial support of donors and governments around the world, we can together save many more lives."

The "Cape Town Measles Declaration" calls on governments to take strong action against one of the world's most vicious and prolific vaccine-preventable childhood killers - a disease that kills 745,000 children every year. The disease must be controlled to meet the Millennium Development targets of a 67% reduction in under-5 mortality by 2015. The world leaders are well aware of the urgency. Last year, the U.N. General Assembly Special Session on Children set a 2005 target date to reduce measles deaths from 1999 levels by 50%. This year, the World Health Assembly, which includes 192 member states, endorsed the WHO and UNICEF measles strategy to combat the disease.

"When 30 million children are ...