Progress in measles control--Nepal, 2000-2006.

In 2002, the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children set a goal to reduce global measles deaths by half (compared with 1999) by 2005. Nepal, a southeast Asian country with an estimated population of 27 million, adopted the measles mortality reduction strategies of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2003, with a goal of reducing measles deaths by half (compared with 2003) by 2005. The strategies consisted of strengthening routine childhood immunization programs, providing a second opportunity for measles vaccination through supplementary immunization activities (SIAs), improving surveillance, and improving measles case management. This report describes routine immunization activities in Nepal, the implementation of measles SIAs, and measles surveillance data for the period 2000-2006. The findings demonstrate a substantial decrease in reported measles incidence. Assuming a reduction in measles deaths that paralleled the decrease in incidence, the findings also suggest progress toward the goal of measles mortality reduction.