The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have just released the measles figures for 2018. And the disease has killed more than 140,000 people worldwide .
Measles vaccination: a necessity to stop the disease
The growing measles epidemic continues to worry health professionals who are hoping for awareness from authorities worldwide. Indeed, only vaccination can fight against the spread of this extremely contagious and which can be fatal.
Thus, according to the WHO, it would be necessary to reach 95% vaccination coverage in each country to ensure real protection against measles and prevent its spread. You should know that for 18 years, vaccination against measles has saved more than 23 million lives, and most often children who are more susceptible to the disease.
Children: the first victims of measles
Also according to the WHO and CDC report, measles has been the cause of more than 140,000 deaths, in 2018. The first victims of the disease are children under the age of five. And we fear an even larger number in 2019.
Faced with this observation, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, Director General of the World Health Organization, protested by indicating: “The fact that a child dies from a vaccine-preventable disease like measles is a real scandal and a collective failure to protect the most vulnerable children in the world ”. He complements by emphasizing: “To save lives, we must ensure that everyone can benefit from vaccines, which means investing in immunization and quality health care as a right for all”.
These words are also confirmed by Kathy Calvin, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation: “We can turn the tide against these outbreaks through collective action, strong political commitment and the reduction of critical funding gaps . Working together works – it’s the only way to reach everyone – with vaccines and services that save lives and, more broadly, achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. “
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