Cairo: This year's World Immunization Week campaign, celebrated from April 24 to 30, aims to highlight that protecting entire communities with vaccines protects everyone and so the theme of this year's campaign is "Protected Together, #VaccinesWork".
Immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective health interventions. Studies show that every US$ 1 spent on childhood immunization returns US$ 44 in economic and social benefits.
Immunization protects everyone ? from infants to senior citizens? against disabling illnesses, disability and death from vaccine-preventable diseases. Increasingly, adolescents and adults are experiencing the benefits of vaccination against life-threatening diseases, such as hepatitis, influenza, meningitis and cancers that occur in adulthood.Every year, immunization prevents up to 3 million deaths from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) and measles in all age groups.
It is predicted that increasing vaccine coverage in low- and middle-income countries by 2030 could prevent 24 million people from falling into poverty due to health expenses.As World Immunization Week is marked worldwide, it is an opportune time to reflect on some major achievements. The world has seen an 84 per cent reduction in measles deaths between 2000 and 2016 due to measles vaccination.
As a result of continued immunization campaigns, polio cases have decreased by over 99 per cent since 1988, and today, only 3 countries (Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan) remain polio endemic, down from more than 125 countries in 1988.
During 2016, 116.5 million infants worldwide received 3 doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DPT3) vaccine, protecting them against these infectious diseases that can cause serious illness and
disability.
Despite this progress, an estimated 19.5 million infants worldwide are still missing out on basic vaccines and vaccination coverage has stalled at 86 per cent, with no significant change during the past year.(UNI)