Measles Group Seeks to Save Lives
by Elizabeth Storch

The measles vaccine costs only one dollar to create and ship to those in need. Though most students don’t part easily with money, volunteers with the measles initiative think it’s not a big sacrifice for students to donate a few dollars to the cause.

The Campus Y is spearheading a drive to raise money to get the measles vaccine to children who need it. Measles is not a health issue for us—the vaccine developed in 1963 has virtually eradicated the disease in the United States. But in underdeveloped countries, 800,000 children died from measles in 2003. Volunteers say students can do something about that.

“The minimal thing one can do is to make a donation of even $1 [or] $5,” said freshman Nitin Sekar, the event organizer. “Every dollar pretty much represents one human saved from the second greatest cause of children’s deaths in the world.”

Sekar and a friend got involved with the cause in high school. Sekar came to UNC-CH, and her friend went to Duke. They brought their “Measles Madness” campaign to both universities.

Dr. Samuel Katz brought his prestige to the fundraising effort at the two schools. He was one of the developers of the measles vaccine that has saved the lives of millions of children worldwide.

“Admittedly, we’ve made great strides in that it used to be that eight million children a year died of measles in those countries,” said Katz. “It’s reduced by 90%, but 800,000 is still too many [deaths] for a disease that should be totally preventable.”

It only takes two quarters to buy that life-saving vaccine for one child. And two more pay to ship it to those who need it. The people behind the measles initiative hope you’ll think of them the next time you think of spending those quarters on a soft drink. Students can make donations through the campus mail system, or directly to the Campus Y.