Adding interventions to mass measles vaccinations in India

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Global Health

Background:

• India's supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) provide opportunities to integrate additional child survival interventions.
• Maternal and child mortality remain significant public health challenges in India.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the potential mortality impact of integrating high-impact interventions into India's measles vaccination campaigns.
• To assess the effectiveness of a package of interventions for maternal and child survival.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) model for 12 Indian states, using data from the Million Deaths Study and household surveys.
• Modeled the impact of measles vaccine alone versus measles vaccine combined with six add-on interventions.

Main Results:

• A measles-only campaign was projected to save 19,016 children under 5. Including add-on interventions could save approximately 73,900 lives (70,200-79,300), including 73,700 child deaths and 300 maternal deaths.
• Key interventions included insecticide-treated bednets, measles vaccine, and preventive zinc supplementation. Girls accounted for a higher percentage of lives saved in both scenarios.

Conclusions:

• Integrating feasible, high-impact interventions into measles vaccination campaigns can significantly increase lives saved in India.
• Such integrated approaches can substantially reduce child mortality and address gender-based inequities in survival rates.