Governments not providing measles vaccinations are committing a crime against their own children, delegates to an international conference on the disease were told in Somerset West yesterday.
Dr Ciro de Quadros, director of international programmes at the renowned Sabin Vaccine Institute in Washington, said 4 000 children across the globe would die of measles over the two days that the conference was in progress.
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"Why have we abandoned our children? Why are we committing this crime," he asked.
Millions die of this preventable disease
An estimated 745 000 children die every year of the disease which the World Health Organisation (WHO) says is preventable by a safe, effective and relatively cheap vaccine.
Over half of these deaths are in Africa.
De Quadros, a former WHO director of immunisation for the Americas, said it was true there had been incredible progress in preventing the spread of measles, and that over a period of four decades, vaccination had eliminated most measles deaths.
However, children still continued to die by the thousands.
"In my opinion this is morally unacceptable... children have the human right not to die of measles.
"We have a moral obligation to provide every child with this vaccine."
Delegates gathered to discuss issue
De Quadros was addressing some 200 delegates from 60 countries gathered for the WHO and United Nations Children's Fund-sponsored conference on reducing measles mortality.
The delegates include representatives of the governments of the 45 countries - mostly in Africa and Asia - that carry 95 percent of the burden of measles deaths.
De Quadros said he found it "a little bit difficult" to accept that even desperately poor countries, such as Mozambique, did not have the resources for measles vaccination.
"Even the poorer countries have resources that could be put into prevention programmes," he said.
Renewed commitment needed
WHO regional director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim Samba, told delegates he believed the global community could do even better than meet the UN goal of reducing measles deaths by half by 2005, compared to 1999 levels.
However, this called for renewed commitment and dedication.
"We can do it... we should continue and eliminate measles from the surface of the earth," he said.
Most cost-effective public health measure
The South African department of health's director for child and youth health, Estelle de Klerk, said in a message read on behalf of Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang - who is in India - measles vaccination was perhaps the most cost-effective public health measure available to governments.
"We appeal to the donor community to include generous support for measles vaccination in their plans of action for the rest of this decade," she said.
"They will secure no better return for their funds."
Zero mortality rate in SA
South Africa, which had an average of 20 000 measles cases a year in the 1980s, now enjoys a zero mortality rate, thanks to vaccination campaigns in 1996/97 and 2000.
There are now fewer than 100 laboratory-confirmed cases in South Africa every year.
De Klerk said this was one of the most important public health achievements in South Africa's history and one of which it was understandably proud.
The Somerset West conference will be followed on Friday by the adoption of the Cape Town Measles Declaration, committing governments and international agencies to intensify the battle against the disease. – (Sapa)
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