Afghanistan: UN measles vaccination effort gets $750,000 boost

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today announced that its measles vaccination effort in Afghanistan received a boost, with a donation of $750,000 from an organization in the United States set up to help Afghan children.

UNICEF said it would use its $500,000 share donated by America’s Fund for Afghan Children (AFAC) to complete its efforts to vaccinate 10 million at-risk Afghan children and prevent an estimated 35,000 deaths. The children's agency said 8.2 million children had been immunized against measles so far “but at least 90 per cent coverage of the country is needed to successfully stop transmission of the disease.”

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies received the remaining $250,000 to help increase the number of vaccinators as well as its on-going community outreach activities.

UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said the donation by AFAC would go a long way towards saving the lives of children in Afghanistan. “With this contribution, measles will no longer be a major killer of children in Afghanistan,” she said, adding that children in the United States should be proud that their dollars and coins were making such a difference.

Initiated by US President George W. Bush shortly after the 11 September terror attacks last year, AFAC’s goal is to encourage US children to donate money to help youngsters in Afghanistan. In its first year, more than 496,000 Afghan children benefited from supplies bought with donations from AFAC.