Decreased financial and political commitment was blamed recently for the rash of measles outbreaks in 30 African countries.

If the trend continues, by 2012 some 500,000 may die from measles, reversing the gains of the last 18 years that were made against the disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Severe measles can incur complications such as blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhea and dehydration, ear infections or severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia.

Measles deaths among children under five years old fell to 118,000 in 2008 from 733,000 in 2000.

The disease tends to occur among poorly nourished young children with the most severe complications, according to Reuters.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the African countries that had the largest outbreaks are Zimbabwe, Chad and Nigeria.

Some 8,000 migrant children in Bulgaria also had the highly-contagious disease during the period,

WHO expert Peter Strebel said the World Health Assembly’s 193 member states, in their annual meeting in Geneva last Thursday, decided to aim for at least 90 percent measles vaccination coverage nationally by 2015, Reuters reported.

However these goals, while achievable, require a long and determined commitment by the states themselves.

Strebel said the assembly will also aim for 80 percent coverage in every district, and to reduce measles to less than five per million population, Voice of America said.

They also strive to reduce measles mortality by 95 percent compared to 2000 levels.  It costs less than $1 to vaccinate a child against measles, but two doses are required for full protection, according to Voice of America.

Meanwhile large cases of measles have also erupted in the UK, the USA and parts of Europe due to a flawed study that linked measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination to autism.

In Britain vaccination rates dropped below 90 percent last year following the autism scare, Strebel said.  However, after the study was proven to be flawed, in the U.K. in fact there have more recently been improvements in vaccination levels and disease spread has fallen to very low levels, Reuters reported.

On Tuesday, the Mennonite Voluntary Service will become the first faith-based service organization recognized by the United States Selective Service System as a member of the Alternative Service Employer Network for conscientious objectors.

On Tuesday, the Mennonite Voluntary Service will become the first faith-based service organization recognized by the United States Selective Service System as a member of the Alternative Service Employer Network for conscientious objectors.

Co- signees of the agreement are Lawrence Romo, Selective Service director; Stanley Green, Mennonite Mission Network executive director; and Hugo Saucedo, director of MVS.

“The point behind this action is for these organizations to be prepared to provide alternative service for those who are conscientious objectors,” said J. E. McNeil, Executive Director of the Center on Conscience & War.

The signing culminates years of talks and negotiations between MVS and the Selective Service.

“This event gives us a formal avenue as a denomination to have expanded job assignments for our young people to perform this conscientious objector obligation,” said Saucedo.

“It’s particularly important for young African-American and Latino American Mennonites who broader society doesn’t always recognize as Mennonite. We know that minorities are disproportionately represented in the armed forces, and this agreement gives them an extra level of assurance that they will be treated equally in the event of a draft.”

The MVS will be open to Mennonites aged 20 and above, and length of service is 1-2 years.  They volunteer in the areas of immigration, health care and the environment in cities and towns across the U.S., according to the Mennonite Web site.

The Mennonite Voluntary Service is rooted in the Anabaptist faith tradition which emphasizes peace, justice and service as important components of the Christian faith journey.

Since 1946, the MVS has allowed adults to serve their country through community service alongside churches and neighborhoods.  Currently, 93 participants serve in 22 different U.S. cities.

The Mennonites endorse nonviolence in all situations, and have a long history of conscientious objection to war.

The Mennonite church in the USA has more than 109,000 members.  They have 939 congregations and 21 conferences operating in 44 states.

Obama to Repubs: Stop Whining! Think America

As hundreds of “Tea Party” members rallied outside the nation’s capitol, carrying American flags and signs that read, “Don’t tread on me,” members of  the U.S. House of Representatives  voted on  landmark healthcare legislation that  ensured that most Americans receive health care.

The legislation, which will cost $940 billion over a decade,  also bars insurers from denying coverage on the basis of existing medical conditions and cut federal deficits by an estimated $138 billion over a decade.

In the countdown to the vote, Democratic House leaders and President Barack Obama were able to resolve  long-standing rifts over abortion and gain the votes needed from Bart Stupak and other anti-abortion Democrats to pass the overhaul by announcing that the president will issue an executive order reaffirming laws already on the books that prevent taxpayer monies from going towards abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or threats to the life of the mother.

According to the Associated Press,” Passage of a central health care bill already cleared by the Senate would send it to Obama for his signature. That still would leave one more step, a companion package of changes would go to the Senate.”