Progress in Measles Mortality Reduction in Ethiopia, 2002?2009

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Abstract
Background. In 2002, Ethiopia adopted the African regional accelerated measles control strategies to reduce measles mortality. Routine measles vaccination is provided for infants at 9 months of age. A second opportunity for measles vaccination through supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) started in 2002, targeting children aged 6 months–14 years; periodic follow-up SIAs were conducted, targeting children aged 6–59 months from 2005 through 2009. Methods. The administrative coverage data for routine measles vaccination and the respective World Health Organization–United Nations Children's Fund vaccination coverage estimates, as well as administrative coverage during measles SIAs and the measles case-based surveillance data from 2004 through 2009, were reviewed and analyzed. Results. The administrative coverage with routine measles vaccination increased from 37% in 2000 to 76% in 2009. The SIAs coverage was 92% for the catch-up SIAs, 88% for the first follow-up SIAs, and 92% for the second follow-up SIAs. Measles case-based surveillance met the targets set for the 2 main performance indicators during 2005–2009. Conclusions. Following the adoption of the measles control strategies, a reduction in the number of reported measles cases and measles outbreaks was documented. However, measles outbreaks continued to occur in Ethiopia, mainly because of suboptimal measles vaccination coverage.