Milestone in preventing child deaths from diarrhoea in Africa

The first children in a GAVI-eligible country in Africa were recently vaccinated against rotavirus in Khartoum, Sudan. Rotavirus is responsible for more than 500,000 under five deaths every year worldwide. By 2015, GAVI plans to support the introduction of this life-saving vaccine in some 40 countries, most of them in Africa, which have extremely high rates of death from rotavirus infections. While nearly every child in the world is at risk of rotavirus infection, most deaths occur in developing countries, where access to medical treatment is limited or unavailable. The statistics in Africa are tragic and staggering. More than a quarter of a million young African children die from diarrhoea caused by rotavirus each year. Six of the seven countries with the highest infant mortality rates from rotavirus worldwide are located in Angola, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Somalia. Life-saving vaccine Rotavirus vaccines are the best tool available for protecting...