Astellas USA Foundation Continues Partnership with Shot@Life, Renews Commitment to Childhood Vaccines
Announces Fourth Consecutive Year of Campaign Funding to Help Support Measles Immunization Programs in Latin America
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) April 18, 2018
For the fourth consecutive year, Astellas USA Foundation will continue its partnership with the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign to help support the delivery of measles vaccines to children in Latin America. Funding provided by Astellas USA Foundation to the Shot@Life campaign has been used to vaccinate more than 300,000 children in Latin America against measles, as well as help support disease monitoring and risk surveillance that are both essential processes in ensuring that the most vulnerable children are vaccinated.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease that is one of the leading causes of death of children under 5, and kills approximately 90,000 individuals each year, or almost 250 people each day. Children who survive the disease can experience visual impairment, heart disease, and other lifelong disabilities.
The elimination of measles in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2016 was an enormous accomplishment that was made possible through a coordinated campaign by health workers, governments, and generous donors like Astellas USA Foundation who helped make the measles vaccine accessible throughout the region.
“The Astellas USA Foundation’s support of the Shot@Life campaign helps maintain high vaccine coverage, provides risk management to at-risk populations, and helps support a strong response system to deal with potential outbreaks,” said Moyra Knight, president of Astellas USA Foundation. “We are pleased to support Shot@Life for the fourth consecutive year to ensure that measles continues to be absent from Latin America and the Caribbean.”
“We are proud to continue our partnership with Astellas USA Foundation to protect the children of Latin America from measles,” said Martha Rebour, Executive Director of the Shot@Life campaign. “By supporting Shot@Life, the Astellas USA Foundation is helping to support the delivery of measles vaccinations and is extending our campaign’s reach throughout the region.”
Shot@Life, a campaign of the UN Foundation, educates, connects, and empowers individuals to champion global vaccines as one of the most effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries. The campaign’s work on measles is a part of a global effort against measles that has drastically reduced the number of measles cases worldwide and helped prevent 20.4 million deaths since 2000, the single greatest reduction in childhood deaths in history. This partnership with Astellas USA Foundation allows the UN Foundation to continue to support this lifesaving work and its global health partners.
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Contact
Lindsey Miller-Voss
Communications Officer, Shot@Life
LMiller-Voss(at)unfoundation(dot)org
(202) 862-8572
About Shot@Life
The United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign collaborates with many organizations and corporations to broaden American support for childhood immunizations in developing countries against diseases like pneumonia, diarrhea, measles and polio. Together, these partners are working with Shot@Life to benefit UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and other implementing partners to save lives and improve the health of millions of children around the world by increasing access to life-saving vaccines. To learn more, visit shotatlife.org.
About The United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the UN Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual donors. Learn more at http://www.unfoundation.org.
About Astellas USA Foundation
Astellas USA Foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporate foundation that awards grants to support charitable, scientific, literary and educational programs. Learn more at http://www.astellasusafoundation.org. You can also follow us on Twitter at @AstellasFDN or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AstellasFoundation.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/04/prweb15423658.htm
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