We know for a fact that there will be additional epidemics in the near future. It would simply not be right to wait for them to occur. We need an effective system to anticipate and prepare for the coming outbreaks.
Florence Fermon, MSF’s vaccination coordinator on the increasing number of measles epidemics.
On September 13-14, 2011, the Measles Initiative met in Washington, D.C., bringing together organizations seeking to eliminate measles worldwide. Given the troubling resurgence of measles epidemics over the last three years, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling for an effective outbreak response mechanism to be established immediately, with secure financial and technical resources.
Since 2008, MSF has responded to epidemics that have expanded over time. In 2010, for example, more than 4.5 million children were vaccinated in emergencies in many countries, including Chad, Malawi, South Africa, Yemen and Zimbabwe. This year, medical teams in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) vaccinated three million children, but could not halt the epidemic. Despite data showing the urgent need for action, actors in the field were slow to organize. The DRC is no exception. Most countries that experience these epidemics do not adequately mobilize the resources available to them and organize vaccination campaigns.
Read more here about what MSF is calling for to ease the outbreaks.