The number of children killed by measles rose by more than 27,000 in 2013, said the WHO in a new report. From VOA:
WHO reports about 145,700 children died from measles in 2013, an increase of 23,700 from the previous year.
WHO says a decline in routine measles vaccine coverage has resulted in large outbreaks of this highly contagious disease in recent years. It also has stalled global efforts to eradicate measles by 2015.
The U.N. agency says measles immunization efforts are hampered by lack of money, weak health systems and not enough awareness of the importance of vaccinating children against this killer disease. It notes it only costs about one dollar to vaccinate a child.
WHO estimates 15.6 million deaths have been prevented through vaccination between 2000 and 2013.
Dr. Robert Perry of the WHO Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, says these huge reductions in mortality are tapering off because of poor vaccine coverage.
“So, now we are in a crossroads,” he said. “We need adequate funding. We need to find ways to increase the first dose coverage and to increase the uptake of a second dose in routine as well as conducting high quality campaigns or we are likely to see more outbreaks like we have seen in the last few years.”
The World Health Organization reports in 2013 large outbreaks occurred in China, Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. It reports more than 70 percent of global measles deaths occurred last year in just six countries – India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Perry says conflict-ridden Iraq and Syria and neighboring countries are having serious problems with measles outbreaks.
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Global Health and Development Beat
Only 2 percent of the $30.6 billion in international assistance spent on health care was directed to pneumonia, despite the fact that it is responsible for 14% of under-five deaths.
The Liberian government said new Ebola cases had dropped from a daily peak of more than 500 to around 50, confirming tentative announcements by experts worldwide of an apparent slowdown.
Doctors Without Borders is launching clinical trials in West Africa to test the effectiveness of three potential Ebola treatments.
Men must take more responsibility for using contraception away from women to reduce the risk of more women dying from botched sterilisations like those seen in India this week, a global symposium on gender equality concluded on Thursday.
With more than half of the population illiterate and its people speaking more than 40 local languages, Mozambique faces colossal challenges in disseminating health information to its population. As the country rolls out new national health campaigns, communication experts are becoming savvier about how they reach Mozambicans.
A profile of Uganda’s Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services for Uganda, the first and only rehabilitation center for disabled children in the country.
The United States and India have announced an agreement to resolve a dispute about food subsidies that has held up the ratification of a global trade pact.
Police in central India have arrested a doctor who performed sterilization procedures at a government run health camp that left at least 13 women dead.
The cholera outbreak in Cameroun has infected more than 3,000 people since April, most occurring in the Far North region, says UNICEF.
Saraya Co. Ltd, a Japanese manufacturer of hygiene and sanitation products, joined the Business Call to Action with an initiative to decrease healthcare associated infections in Uganda, announced UNDP.
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Buzzing in the Blogs
Now is time to tackle the problem of malnutrition, say José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General and Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. They write for Inter Press Service:
Many developing countries now face multiple burdens of malnutrition, with people living in the same communities – sometimes even the same households – suffering from undernutrition, hidden hunger and obesity.
These numbers are shocking and must serve as a global call to action.
Besides the terrible human suffering, unhealthy diets also have a detrimental impact on the ability of countries to develop and prosper – the cost of malnutrition, in all its forms, is estimated between four and five percent of global GDP.
Government leaders, scientists, nutritionists, farmers, civil society and private sector representatives from around the world will gather in Rome from Nov. 19 to 21 for the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2). It is an opportunity they cannot afford to miss: making peoples’ right to a healthy diet a global reality.
Creating healthy and sustainable food systems is key to overcoming malnutrition in all its forms – from hunger to obesity.
Food production has tripled since 1945, while average food availability per person has risen by only 40 percent. Our food systems have succeeded in increasing production, however, this has come at a high environmental cost and has not been enough to end hunger.
Meanwhile, food systems have continued to evolve with an even greater proportion of food being processed and traded, leading to greater availability of foods with high energy, fats, sugars and salt.
Our food systems are simply not sustainable or healthy today, let alone in 2050, when we will have to feed more than nine billion people. We need to produce more food but also nutritious food and to do so in ways that safeguard the capacity of future generations to feed themselves.
Put simply: we need healthy and sustainable food systems – that produce the right balance of foods, in sufficient quantity and quality, and that is accessible to all – if we want to lead healthy, productive and sustainable lives.
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Capital Events
Friday
9:00 AM – Mexico’s Energy Reforms: Tracking Progress – Wilson Center
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By Mark Leon Goldberg and Tom Murphy
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