A new era in the fight against measles and rubella

The Measles Initiative was established in 2001 to establish a global partnership to coordinate efforts to prevent childhood mortality and morbidity caused by the highly contagious measles virus. In 2012, the founding partners — the American Red Cross, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations Foundation, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO) — agreed to incorporate rubella elimination under a new name, the Measles and Rubella Initiative (M&RI ).

Huge strides have been made since then. The initiative has helped deliver measles vaccines to children around the world, helping to save more than 56 million lives worldwide since its inception, and has invested more than $1.2 billion in measles and rubella control activities, in partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and Bill & Melindom Gates Foundation (BMGF).

The effect of these investments is significant. From 2000 to 2021, the annual number of estimated measles deaths decreased by 83 percent, from 761,000 to 128,000. While much progress has been made, the goal is to work with countries and partners to reach the 2030 Immunization Agenda target. (IA2030). save another 50 million lives through access to essential vaccines by the end of 2030, with measles vaccination contributing a large percentage.

For this purpose, all the founders accepted Measles and Rubella 2030 Strategic Frameworkwhich is fully aligned with IA2030, an ambitious global strategy to maximize the life-saving impact of vaccines.

M&RI then began a consultative process to fully integrate strategy, coordination and action with the IA2030 strategy and partnership processes. As a result of this process, the newly revitalized M&RI partnership will now be called IA2030 Measles and Rubella Partnership (M&RP). The transition began on January 1, 2023 and is now formalized.

Building on years of previous joint work, the membership of the IA2030 M&RP will include the original five founders and has been expanded to include Gavi and BMGF as key partners.

The transition comes at a time when the world has seen the worst sustained decline in global immunization coverage in 30 years, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related disruptions. This is appropriate because we need to work together more closely than ever before to address the nearly 40 percent rise in unvaccinated children worldwide.

IA2030 is in its early years, and we are among the first initiatives to transition to IA2030 management. We hope that our success will serve as a precedent for other disease-specific initiatives in the coming years. This transitionis a step forward in overcoming current challenges and providing for all childreneverywhere everywhere they are protected against measles, rubella and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

Sincerely,

American Red Cross

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Gavi, Alliance for Vaccines

US Centers for Disease Control

United Nations Foundation

UNICEF

WHO

About the Measles and Rubella Partnership (M&RP) and the 2030 Immunization Plan (IA2030)

The Measles and Rubella Partnership (M&RP), formerly the Measles and Rubella Initiative, has helped deliver the measles and rubella vaccine since 2000 to children worldwide, helping to save more than 56 million lives and significantly reduce birth defects caused by congenital rubella infections. Despite these advances, measles remains one of the world’s leading vaccine-preventable killers of children. Under the umbrella Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) and leading Measles and Rubella 2030 Strategic Framework (MRSF), M&RP’s current mission includes addressing declining national immunization coverage, accelerating recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and accelerating progress toward a measles- and rubella-free world. The partnership consists of American Red Cross, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gavi, Alliance for Vaccines, US CDC, United Nations Foundation, UNICEF and WHO.

M&RP is a part IA2030, an ambitious global strategy to maximize the life-saving impact of vaccines – one of the most successful and successful public health interventions of all time. IA2030 aims to prevent more than 50 million deaths by 2030 through access to essential vaccines and help build health systems that can withstand the impact of pandemics and provide a rapid vaccination response.

For more information about the Measles and Rubella Partnership, visit the Measles and Rubella Partnership Web page