Red Cross calls for aid in fighting measles outbreak

Source: Ethiopian review

The American Red Cross, in the wake of the massive measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, recently requested the aid of the global health community to quell the spread of the disease.

A total of 16,112 suspected cases of measles have been reported in the African country since early 2011, including 106 children who died from the disease.

This massive outbreak continues the recent global increase of reported measles cases.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more measles cases were reported in 2008 than in any other year since 1997, with more than 90 percent of those infected either not vaccinated or with an unknown vaccination status.

Victim of years of internal conflict, The Democratic Republic of Congo has left thousands of children vulnerable to the disease by not regularly participating in measles vaccination campaigns.
"If campaigns are postponed because of funding shortfalls, armed conflict or lack of political commitment, we will see outbreaks. It's predictable but it's also altogether preventable," Athalia Christie, a senior technical advisor for the Measles Initiative with the American Red Cross, said.

Through the Measles Initiative, the American Red Cross, in conjunction with the United Nations Foundation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the World Health Organization have contributed to a 92 percent reduction of measles mortality in Africa between 2000 and 2008.

The Red Cross is hopeful that this initiative, along with assistance from the Democratic Republic of Congo, will put an end to this outbreak plaguing sub-Saharan Africa.

- Spencer Ham

Measles Deaths on the Rise

Source:UN Dispatch

When USAID Administrator Raj Shah told Congress yesterday that 70,000 children could needlessly die should Congress pass a restrictive global health budget, this is what he was talking about.
The World Health Organization is reporting today that Measles deaths are on the rise again in sub-Saharan Africa. The thing is, since the Measles Initiative was launched in 2001, the number of cases and deaths from Measles in Africa has dropped exponentially. Routine child and infant vaccinations in Africa caused measles cases to plummet from over 500,000 in 2001 to around 35,000 in 2008. But the word today is that since 2008, there has been a four-fold increase in the number of Measles cases in Africa to about 170,000 confirmed cases by WHO in 2010.

A WHO spokesperson attributes the reversal of gains to two reasons. First, paradoxically, is the success of the campaign since 2001; parents saw fewer measles cases around them and judged that the threat of measles was reduced. Second, international funding for measles has declined since 2008. Amidst a global economic crisis, donor governments reduced their spending on measles vaccination efforts and shifted to other global health priorities, said the WHO spokesperson.
Measles is a very opportunistic disease. So opportunistic, it would seem, that it has exploited the global financial crisis.

American Red Cross Calls on Global Health Community to Fight Measles Outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo

Rising number of new cases putting thousands of children at risk.

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With measles spreading rapidly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), putting thousands of children at risk, the American Red Cross today called on the Democratic Republic of Congo and members of the global health community to work together to launch an immediate response to the outbreaks.

"In countries with weak health systems, vaccination campaigns need to be conducted every 2 to 4 years to reduce measles cases and deaths," said Athalia Christie, senior technical advisor for the Measles Initiative with the American Red Cross. "If campaigns are postponed because of funding shortfalls, armed conflict or lack of political commitment, we will see outbreaks. It's predictable but it's also altogether preventable."

A total of 16,112 suspected cases of measles have been reported since early 2011 with the death toll reaching 106 children – 90 of whom are in Katanga province, according to the latest figures provided by local health authorities.

The Red Cross has joined Medecins Sans Frontieres' (MSF) efforts to rapidly vaccinate more than 1.5 million children in response to the current crisis.

"Every year, thousands of children suffer from measles," said Christie, with the American Red Cross. "Outbreaks are reported every day. Hospitals beds are full. Mothers delay naming their newborns until they have survived the disease. What's even more tragic is that we have a safe and effective vaccine available that will not only protect them from this disease, but will contribute to the prosperity of entire generations."

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is as large as all of Western Europe. Following years of armed conflict and crumbling health infrastructure, thousands of children are vulnerable to measles.

Vast differences exist in access to healthcare between rural villages and urban cities – an inequity that fuels the spread of measles. Countries with weak health systems use campaigns to reach those with otherwise poor access to health services. Measles campaigns also strengthen routine immunization by retraining healthcare workers, supplying equipment to safely transport vaccines and developing strategies to access hard-to-reach populations.

"The success of measles vaccination campaigns depends largely on spreading the word to communities," said Dr. Alain Kapete, from the Red Cross of the DRC. "Red Cross volunteers make door-to-door visits to ensure all children, especially those in remote villages, are included in the immunization campaign. We need to vaccinate as many children as possible to prevent the spread of the virus."

In October and November 2010, the Red Cross of the Democratic Republic of the Congo mobilized 1,000 volunteers for vaccination campaigns against wild polio virus. These campaigns also integrated measles vaccine in certain districts. Additionally, the local Red Cross society has ongoing activities to strengthen routine immunization in 65 zones as part of a civil society consortium receiving funding from the GAVI Alliance.

The Measles Initiative has successfully contributed to a 92 percent reduction of measles mortality in Africa between 2000 and 2008. Unfortunately, with declines in political and financial commitments for this highly effective partnership, future vaccination campaigns against measles are being compromised and immunization remains an unfinished business.

In 2010, 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa reported measles outbreaks with more than 1,200 deaths linked to measles.

Measles is a highly contagious virus, spread by contact with an infected person through coughing and sneezing, affecting mostly children. The symptoms include high fever, severe skin rash and cough and can cause complications such as pneumonia, malnutrition, severe dehydration, ear and eye infections that can lead to blindness. Measles kills an estimated 164,000 children each year, according to the Measles Initiative.

Launched in 2001, the Measles Initiative—led by the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the World Health Organization—provides technical and financial support to governments and communities for mass vaccination campaigns and disease surveillance around the world. The Initiative has supported the vaccination of more than 700 million children, helping to reduce measles deaths by 78 percent globally (compared to 2000). To learn more, visit www.measlesinitiative.org.

To learn more you can read the full advocacy report by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) which was produced in partnership with the GAVI Alliance.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

SOURCE: American Red Cross

Remote Nigerian village becomes front line in measles fight

By Aminu Abubakar (AFP) – Mar 31, 2011

RIJIYA, Nigeria — One of the front lines of global health is in this dusty northern Nigerian village, where a man dressed in a turban and caftan walks the streets, delivering a warning through a megaphone.

"If you don't want your child to die or suffer deformities like deafness or blindness, you better take your child to be immunised," broadcasts Gado Maibuji, recruited by local officials to deliver the anti-measles message.

With the global effort to eradicate polio seeing major gains, international health agencies have also been highlighting the fight against measles, the highly contagious disease that kills over 160,000 children each year.

It is preventable through vaccination, and nearly all of the deaths occur in what are considered low-income countries with poor health infrastructure.

India is the hardest hit and Nigeria, despite its major oil wealth, is also at high risk, reporting 14,271 suspected cases and 7,754 confirmed last year, resulting in 151 deaths.

As Africa's most populous nation, with 150 million people, Nigeria is a key battleground in the fight against measles, which it carries out with support from the United Nations Foundation.

"Nigeria is crucial in this campaign due to its high birth rate," said the UN Foundation executive director for children's health, Andrea Gay, during a tour of an anti-measles drive in Rijiya village in northern Zamfara state.

Measles is a viral respiratory infection spread through oral droplets, with symptoms including fever, cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis and rashes.

With an incubation period of up to two weeks, it is highly contagious and an infected child can set off a chain reaction that sees the virus spread rapidly through a neighbourhood.

Confronting measles through immunisation is part of a global strategy of addressing child-killing diseases, with polio having long been a major focus.

"We don?t have to wait until the last polio virus is routed before we tackle measles, as doing so will be disastrous because measles will have spread all over," Gay said.

Unlike many African nations, Nigeria, which begins three successive weekends of elections on Saturday, covers more than two-thirds of the costs of its measles vaccination campaigns, according to the UN Foundation.

The United Nations body lends financial as well as technical support, including to a recent $30-million campaign in Nigeria.

Globally, a multi-million-dollar initiative managed by the UN Foundation has been highly effective in reducing measles mortality.

It began in 2001 and involves four other international donors -- the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, the American Red Cross and the US Centres for Disease Control.

The number of worldwide deaths from measles has fallen by some 78 percent -- from 745,000 in 2000 to 164,000 in 2008 -- and the aim is to eradicate the disease in the next decade, said Gay.

Experts warn that any halt in the campaigns could undo the success recorded in the fight so far.

With poor routine immunisation, many Nigerian children do not receive measles vaccinations; those who are immunised often only get a single dose, leaving them vulnerable since two doses are needed for proper resistance.

The problem is compounded by families' reluctance to take their children to immunisation centres.

"They are used to house-to-house polio immunisation where health workers meet them in their homes and immunise their children," said Safiya Ismail, a WHO immunisation officer.

"But in the case of measles, we are asking them to bring their children to us and many are reluctant."

Local authorities provide soaps and candies as incentives to lure mothers and children to centres, while workers in communities travel the streets with megaphones to sensitise families on the importance of vaccination.

"The soaps and candies do the magic," Ismail said. "Mothers are enticed by the free soaps and children by the candies and the strategy works effectively."

Treating Blindness in Africa

http://www.pri.org

Ethiopia has the greatest number of people in the world whove gone blind from trachoma, but medical workers say not enough resources are being put into combating this disease. The Carter Centers Trachoma Control Program is one of the few efforts currently focused on intervention in Ethiopia. Story by Odette Yousef for PRIs The World.

Lions-Measles Initiative pilot in Africa

Lions and LCIF are joining a world-wide effort spearheaded by the Measles Initiative to protect children from measles, a leading cause of childhood blindness. This Lions-Measles Initiative pilot program is being funded in part by a US$400,000 grant to LCIF from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. LCIF is providing an additional US$300,000 to support the project.

MAKING EDUCATION ACCESSIBLE TO THE VISION IMPAIRED

A PAPER PRESENTED BY

DR. CHUKS OSUJI, OON FNIPR

AT THE LAUNCH OF FIFTY MILLION NAIRA BRAILLE RESOURCE AND COMPUTER CENTER

ON THURSDAY 16^TH DECEMBER, 2010

AT IMO CONCORDE HOTEL, OWERRI.

INTRODUCTION:

Education, as one aspect of human Endeavour and creativity has been defined in several ways, education is a branch of knowledge which transforms man, widens his scope an d helps him to acquire knowledge in every discipline of studies. On the other hand, Education has been defined as a process of imparting knowledge or skill through a systematic process of instruction.

Properly put, irrespective of which definition one prefers to adopt, education can be obtained through schooling process, teaching skills or even through demonstration of certain acts particularly by using instruments, materials or equipment.

Therefore, by and large, for our purpose in this discussion, the above definition can suffice.

MEANS OF EDUCATION:

As we ordinarily know and understand, if education is formalized, it can be acquired through several means. These means include- primary schools, secondary schools, tertiary institutions, technical centers etc. process of imparting knowledge are various and diverse. For example, if a village palm wine tapper is demonstrating to a Youngman the process of climbing a palm tree so as to extract palm wine or to fall a palm – brunch that can be considered to be a form of education because the palm wine tapper is impacting knowledge.

In Nigerian educational system, children, once they attain the age of five years are expected to be sent to primary school. But those with exceptional growth and development which may be due to several domestic factors could be ready for early primary education much earlier according to our educational system, we have what is commonly referred to as 6334 system. This makes distinctive classification of various stages which a child undergoes as he progresses educationally. The system gives those in primary level to spend 6 years of primary education. This is followed by another 3 years in the junior secondary school and another 3 years in the senior secondary school level. Then the child progresses to any of the numerous tertiary Institutions.

EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES:

Provision of facilities for our educational Institutions varies from level to level. However, there are essentially basic facilities. These include suitable fenced accommodation to house different classes, library, laboratory, craft, computer room teachers conference hall and hostels, laboratory Apparatus and chemicals, books for library, football field for recreation, and play ground equipped with modern facilities like merry-go-round for the kindergarten and pre- primary school, toilet facilities, canteen, medical  center, first aid box, chalk boards tables and chairs, pipe borne water, light and buses for transportation etc.

FACILITIES FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSONS:

It is a matter of regret and disenchantment to know that one of the short-comings of our educational system is non-recognition of the existence of the physically challenged persons particularly visually impaired in our society. Right from both policy planning period through implementation, authorities have completed neglected physically challenge persons, more so, visually impaired children, pupils and students at the different level of our educational system.

In other advanced systems including some not quite developed system such as Ghana, Bostwana, Zimbawe and South Africa, adequate provisions are made to make studying and learning simpler and less difficult for the visually impaired. Right from the entrance gate, one must notice that the construction of steps right  through the doors are made in such a way to ensure that the visually impaired or other physically challenge persons are taken care of. In every aspect of teaching, learning and studying, facilities of different kinds are made for the visually impaired- material, equipment, instructional items, Braille books, talking computers with audio packages, telephones handset that can talk wrist watches etc. in fact, a lot of educational apparatus have been provided to make learning and reading quite easy for the visually impaired.

It is important to point out that in more advanced countries, particularly in the United States of America, Asia and Europe, strenuous efforts are made to make education accessible to the visually impaired persons. This helps to encourage them to be educated and to make studies in the any discipline of their choices. Besides, life is made very comfortable for the visually impaired in particular and physically challenged persons in every aspect of human Endeavours. Consequent upon this there are legal provision which compel citizen, government at all levels, organizations, providers of various types of services such as railways, airlines, buses and other means of public utilities and services to provide for necessary and adequate comfort for the visually impaired.

In other to enhance their studies, special schools for the visually impaired are established o make education accessible to them at all cost. Even where no special schools are established, adequate provisions are made to take care of their needs due to their physical challenges. Conversely, here in Nigeria, it is indeed a sorry story. Visually no serious effort has been made to make sure education is more accessible to the visually impaired. From year to year, all we hear both from the Federal Government and the National Legislative Assembly is soon, soon, soon, something must be done to “take care of the visually impaired persons in our society” for long, visually impaired persons in conjunction with physically challenge persons in Nigeria have been fighting for the enactment of law to give equal constitutional and legal right to physically challenged persons including the visually impaired person. Yet, in spite of concerted efforts by relevant associations in conjunction with the Nigerian Press, National Assembly is still dragging its feet. Painfully enough mere talking without appropriate legal framework has continued to star visually impaired persons in the face. If such legal framework is put in place, both physically challenged persons and visually impaired persons would be fully taken care of, protected and given the necessary legal and constitutional privileges.

Consequent upon non-availability of legal framework to take cognizance of visually impaired in our society today, coupled by the general apathy towards them, vision impaired persons in Nigeria are at the receiving end of every social and economic strata. They are exposed to mass discrimination, disregard, disdain, oppression, neglect, sometimes forgotten. Even in their individual families, they are not factored in any major decisions, impoverished, generally hungry because they sometimes cannot fend for themselves. Government at all levels hardly ever remember them for meaningful employment not to talk of political appointments it is for this that the visually impaired in our society are at the lowest level of poverty and has the highest unemployment rate.

Furthermore, because of this apparent Government and civil society and general neglect of the visually challenge persons in Nigeria, particularly in the provision of educational facilities meant for them, they are the most uneducated class in the society. And without good education in addition to their obvious challenge, what else could they do? It is for this purpose that many of them end up in our streets and public hotels, parks and market squares begging for alms. And in a society saturated with massive economic degradation where many facilities could hardly fend for themselves, one would not expect even the street beggars to get something so as to mange to eke out a living.

EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED:

As already opined above, adequate legal framework must be put in place so as to adequately make provision for the visually impaired. Within the general principal of such a framework, emphasis must be placed on the provision of educational materials, equipment and wholistic provision of other necessary structure and facilities.

In addition, Government should make provision for conducive learn environment, classroom tables, desk, well trained teachers, pipe borne water and light. The compound should be fenced and guarded by security men.

Government should also support in sending them for field work and excursion as required so that they can touch and feel some of things learnt in the classroom to broaden their knowledge in all areas. Free transportation should be made available to the by providing school buses that will take them to school and back home.

CONCLUSION:

It is an incontrovertible fact that there is absolutely not much attention by different levels of Government and other educational authorities for the provision of resources and facilities to enhance, promote and project the education of the visually impaired. It is absolutely necessary that until such a legal framework comes into effect, we must begin to seriously address the co-educational concern of the visually impaired persons.

They are special and must be treated special. I strongly posit that the government at all levels: national, state, local government should as a matter of societal imperatives take urgent steps to make special budgetary allocation to be specially geared towards our society. Special schools special workshops, libraries equipped with those materials and modern technological equipment, provision of special writing and reading gadgets, redesigning some of our schools to make the movement of the visually impaired uninhibited, provision of special recreational facilities for them must form the basis of new policies aimed at making education more accessible to the visually impaired.

I therefore commend Redemption International for the Blind for their bold initiatives in the arranging for this occasion to raise fund for Braille resource, Skill acquisition and Computer center..

Wishing you a successful launch.

Dr. Chuks Osuji, OON,FNIPR