The Problem

Before global health leaders formed the Measles Initiative in 2001, more than 750,000 children worldwide died from measles each year.

Measles is a highly-contagious virus, spread by contact with an infected person through coughing and sneezing.  When one person has measles, 90 percent of the people they come into close contact with will become infected, if they are not already immune. Being immune means someone has been vaccinated or has previously contracted the disease.  The symptoms include a high fever, severe skin rash and cough.

Measles does not cause death directly, but it weakens the immune system and opens the door to secondary health problems, such as pneumonia, blindness, diarrhea, and encephalitis.  Approximately 30 percent of reported measles cases have one or more complications.  These debilitating effects are most common in children under five and adults over twenty.  Poor children are more likely to be malnourished and have severe complications from measles. Even if a child recovers, he or she can be left with permanent disabilities.

While significant progress has been made thanks to the Measles Initiative and its supporters, measles still kills an estimated 164,000 people each year – mostly children less than five years of age. That means approximately 450 die from measles-related complications each day.

In many developing countries, parents do not have access to immunization services that could protect their children from this fate.  Factors such as poverty, poor health systems and a lack of information make it difficult for families to secure preventative medical care.

The risk also remains in developed nations. Although measles was eliminated from the Western Hemisphere in 2002, outbreaks can occur when unvaccinated residents are exposed to infected people, mostly through international travel.

Measles, however, is entirely preventable. Learn more about measles and contribute to the solution.