According to new data released by the World Health Organization’s Measles & Rubella Initiative estimates that 17.1 million lives have been saved since 2000, largely due to increased vaccination coverage against measles.
Also, WHO reported that the number of measles-related deaths has decreased 79% — from 546,800 in 2000 to 114,900 in 2014. The measles vaccination has played a key role in reducing child mortality and in progress towards Millennium Development Goal 4, the agency noted.
However, the data shows that overall progress towards increasing global immunization coverage has recently stagnated. While coverage with the first dose of the measles vaccine increased globally from 72% to 85% between 2000 and 2010, it has remained unchanged the past 4 years.
