Measles Initiative partners and supporters endorsed a joint declaration at the initial partners meeting held January 31, 2001 declaring their intent to fight measles in Africa.

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross helps vulnerable people around the world to prevent, prepare for, and respond to disasters, complex humanitarian emergencies, and life-threatening health conditions. The American Red Cross accomplishes this goal by working within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement—the world's largest humanitarian network with more than 180 Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies and more than 100 million volunteers. In all our work, we abide by the seven fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

American Red Cross coordinates the Measles Initiative and provides substantial funding and communication support. It also provides technical and financial assistance to national Red Cross societies to mobilize mothers and caretakers to vaccinate their children during immunization campaigns. More than 80,000 Red Cross national society volunteers assist with measles campaign each year. In addition, the American Red Cross supports community education programs and operations research around the integration of insecticide treated nets in measles campaigns. Between 2001 and 2006, the American Red Cross contributed $118 million to the Initiative.

United Nations Foundation
(UN Foundation)
The UN Foundation was created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner's historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities. The UN Foundation builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world's most pressing problems, and also works to broaden support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach. The UN Foundation is a public charity. For the Measles Initiative, the UN Foundation and its partners, including the American Red Cross and the Centers for Disease Control have raised $279 million in funds to date. The UN Foundation disburses and accounts for these funds through the UN financial system. The UN Foundation also contributes communication and fundraising resources in support of the measles initiative.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
CDC provides technical assistance for epidemiological and laboratory surveillance including outbreak investigations, planning, implementation, and evaluation of immunization programs including operations research. In addition, CDC provides funding for bundled measles vaccine and safe immunization practices.

World Health Organization (WHO)
WHO has a leading role in strategy development, consensus building, and program monitoring. WHO provides the overall technical leadership and strategic planning for the management , coordination and monitoring of global measles control activities. WHO is also responsible for ensuring that all components of the measles mortality reduction strategy are technically sound and successfully implemented. Visit the WHO Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals page at http://www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/en/.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
UNICEF is the premier global institution for child health and has been active in childhood vaccination for many years. It is also a world leader in leveraging its uniquely large, on the ground global network of communication and social mobilization staff and alliances in support of health strategies. UNICEF will use its logistical and procurement capacity to provide all the logistics in procuring and delivering the syringes, the vaccine, and other commodities to the vaccination sites. UNICEF's New York headquarters and country offices allow for the efficient movement of funds and strict accountability. UNICEF is the only organization allowed to import the vaccine into most developing countries and has a sophisticated logistics capacity as well as great stature in each country.

Other key players in the fight against measles include the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and countries and governments affected by measles.