Measles Mortality Reduction Contributes Substantially to Reduction of All Cause Mortality Among Children Less Than Five Years of Age, 1990–2008

Background. The Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG4) to reduce mortality in children aged 12 million in 1990 to 10.6 million in 2001 (13% reduction) and to 8.8 million in 2008 (28% reduction). Measles accounted for about 7% of deaths in this age group in 1990 and 1% in 2008, equal to 23% of the global reduction in all-cause mortality in this age group from 1990 to 2008. Conclusions. Aggressive efforts to prevent measles have led to this remarkable reduction in measles deaths. The current funding gap and insufficient political commitment for measles control jeopardizes these achievements and presents a substantial risk to achieving MDG4. Language: en