title: Measles vaccination in Africa: by how much could routine coverage be improved?
abstract: Assuming that the level of Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) coverage gives a measure of access to immunisation services, it is possible to derive what fraction of infants are not immunised against measles due to under-utilisation of existing services (rather than unavailability of services). According to the most recent official statistics, the overall coverage for measles vaccine is 53% in Africa (10% lower than for BCG). This difference amounts to 3 million African children who will not be vaccinated against measles this year even though they probably have access to immunisation services.
authors.affiliation: PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, NW9 5EQ, London, UK. jedmunds@phls.org.uk
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Edmunds
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Gay
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Henao Restrepo
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Olivé
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bele
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D001500:BCG Vaccine; D003906:Developing Countries; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008457:Measles / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D008458:Measles Vaccine; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D001500:BCG Vaccine; D008458:Measles Vaccine