Measles and Rubella Champion Award

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GS II: Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources

Overview

Why in the News?

India receives ‘Measles and Rubella Champion’ Award for Exemplary Efforts in Measles and Rubella Disease Prevention.

In recognition of the country’s tireless efforts to combat Measles and Rubella, India has received the prestigious Measles and Rubella Champion Award by The Measles and Rubella Partnership at the American Red Cross Headquarters in Washington D.C. USA.
Ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Washington D.C. received the award on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
This accolade celebrates India’s unwavering commitment to public health and its outstanding leadership in curbing the spread of these infectious diseases among children.
It further recognizes India’s regional leadership to the measles & rubella elimination programme.

Comprises a multi-agency planning committee, including the American Red Cross, BMGF, GAVI, US CDC, UNF, UNICEF, and WHO, all dedicated to reducing global measles deaths and preventing rubella illness.
M&RP aims to achieve a world without measles and rubella.
Various support to countries
- To raise coverage of measles, rubella and other vaccines
- Fund, plan, implement and monitor quality supplementary campaigns
- Investigate outbreaks and provide technical and financial support for effective outbreak response, propose and participate in solutions to strengthen immunization delivery
- Support a global laboratory network for measles and rubella
The partnership has supported 88 countries to deliver more than 3.86 billion doses of measles vaccine since 2001.
The partnership helped to raise measles vaccination coverage to 83% globally and reduced measles deaths by 82%.
The partnership has invested more than US $1.2 billion in measles and rubella control activities.

Rubella isn’t the same as measles, but the two illnesses share some signs and symptoms, such as the red rash.

Measles, caused by the measles virus (MeV), is a highly contagious viral infection primarily affecting children.
It spreads through respiratory droplets, making it one of the most infectious diseases known.
Measles can lead to severe complications and even death, particularly in children under five years of age or those with compromised immune systems.

Key Facts

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), before widespread vaccination, measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths annually worldwide.
In 2019, there were an estimated 207,500 measles deaths globally, primarily among children under the age of five.
Vaccination efforts have significantly reduced measles-related mortality.
Since 2000, measles vaccination has prevented nearly 25.5 million deaths worldwide.
In 2019, the Democratic Republic of the Congo experienced one of the world’s largest measles outbreaks, with over 300,000 reported cases and over 6,000 deaths.

Rubella, also known as German measles, is a contagious viral infection caused by the rubella virus (RV).
While often milder than measles, rubella can pose serious risks to pregnant women, as it can lead to congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in their babies.
CRS can result in severe birth defects, including deafness, blindness, heart defects, and intellectual disabilities.

Key Facts

Rubella is characterized by a mild fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes, which typically last about two to three days.
The most significant concern with rubella is its potential impact on pregnant women.
If a woman contracts rubella during early pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, there’s a high risk of transmitting the virus to the fetus, leading to CRS.
Rubella vaccination has been highly effective in reducing the incidence of rubella and CRS.
Vaccination efforts have led to a significant decline in rubella cases and CRS worldwide.

The Measles-rubella (MR) vaccine used in the immunization programmes is a live attenuated vaccine and is safe and effective.
Measles vaccines are available either as single antigen vaccines or in combination with either rubella (MR) or mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines and with mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccines.
When MR / MMR / MMRV vaccines are used, the protective immune response to each of the components remains unchanged.
All children in the target age group are vaccinated irrespective of previous immunization status or history of measles/rubella disease.
The first dose is given to children between 9 and 12 months of age and a
second dose is given at 16-24 months of age

India has vaccinated over 348 million children between 2017 and March 2023.
Measles cases dropped by 62% between 2017 and 2021, from 10.4 to 4 cases per million population.
Rubella cases decreased by 48%, from 2.3 to 1.2 cases per million population.
The Intensified Mission Indradhanush 5.0 (IMI 5.0) campaign with a special focus on the improvement of Measles and Rubella vaccination coverage concluded all three rounds on 14 October 2023.

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