The church will donate $1M to fight measles in Africa

American Red Cross to honor LDS Church today
Recognition of aid: The church will donate $1M to fight measles in Africa

The American Red Cross will bestow the organization's highest financial support honor on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today and accept a $1 million donation from the LDS Church to help rid Africa of measles.     The contribution is the second part of a three-year commitment by the LDS Church on behalf of the Red Cross' Measles Initiative, a program set up to vaccinate 200 million African children and prevent 1.2 million deaths over five years.     American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha   J. Evans will present leaders of the LDS Church with the Circle of Humanitarians Award at a 12:30 p.m. ceremony at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.     "The Measles Initiative is eliminating the disease in Africa, having vaccinated more than 140 million children   so far, saving 300,000 lives," Evans said.     The vaccination campaigns educate mothers and caretakers about measles and encourage them to have their children immunized.     The Red Cross maintains that nearly 700,000 children around the world die from the measles   each year; nearly half of those children live in Africa. Measles is preventable and costs less than a $1 to vaccinate a child.