Public-private alliance GAVI has revealed that immunisation programmes against meningitis and hepatitis in the world’s poorest countries will have averted 3.4 million deaths by the end of the year.

The alliance, set up by IT magnate Bill Gates and funded by donor governments, international institutions and private philanthropists, also said that 213 million children will have been reached with GAVI-supported vaccines in the period 2000-2008.

“These numbers show the positi…

Malawi has launched a campaign Tuesday to immunise two million children against measles.

“We want to kick out measles because it is a dangerous disease which leads to complications such as blindness and death,” Storn Kabuluzi, director of preventive health services, told AFP.

The three-day campaign to be conducted in every region of Malawi will target up to two million children aged between six months and five years, he said.

The children will also receive Vit…