The regional committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Africa on Tuesday called on African countries to mobilize more resources to implement strategies aimed at eliminating measles on the continent.

In its biennium report for 2010/2011 released in Luanda, the regional committee said 14 African countries conducted supplementary immunization activities targeted at a total of 81.8 million children in 2011 under the established plan and coupled with vaccination campaigns to respond to the measles outbreak.

The report stressed that measles outbreaks continued to pose a challenge to the continent due to the lack of adequate funding for the implementation of both supplementary and routine immunization and vaccination strategies.

The regional committee said it had mobilized 55 million US dollars for the measles program in Africa and vowed to continue its support for African countries to implement multi-year strategic plans to combat the disease.

The regional committee opened its five-day 62nd session in Luanda on Monday under the motto "Leadership for Better Health" to discuss health problems confronting with Africa.