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World Immunization Week 2017 : #VaccinesWork

World Immunization Week 2017 : #VaccinesWork

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The World Immunization Week is observed in the last week of April every year to promote the use of vaccines against diseases. This year’s theme is #VaccinesWork.

Highlights:
  • Immunization is one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective health interventions.
  • The World Immunization Week is observed from April 24-30th every year to promote the use of vaccines that work against disease.
  • The 2017 theme for World Immunization Week is #VaccinesWork
The World Immunization Week is observed in the last week of April every year in order to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against diseases.
Around 19.4 million children are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated in the world. The theme for this year’s World Immunization Week is #VaccinesWork.

Immunization is widely recognized and it is undoubtedly one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective health interventions. About 3 million deaths can be prevented annually by immunizations.

Objectives of 2017 World Immunization Week

The World Health Organization (WHO) along with its partners aims to raise awareness on the critical importance of full immunization throughout life.

Key objectives
  • To highlight the importance of immunization as a top priority in global health investment.
  • To promote the understanding of the action steps needed to achieve the Global Vaccine Action Plan
  • To exhibit the role of immunization in sustainable development and global health security.
Halfway Point in the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) 2011-2020
The Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) is endorsed by around 194 Member States of the World Health Assembly in May 2012.

The main aim of the plan is to create a framework for preventing millions of deaths by 2020. This can be achieved by creating more equitable access to create vaccines for people in all communities.

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2017 marks the halfway point in the decade of vaccines. The improvements in the individual countries had a strong global rate of new vaccine introductions along with targets for disease elimination which may include measles, rubella, maternal and neonatal tetanus.

The countries may make efforts to reach the GVAP goals by 2020. And those countries which had achieved the goals must work to sustain the efforts over time.

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Immunization Matters
Vaccination prevents the suffering and death associated with diseases like pneumonia, diarrhea, whooping cough, measles and polio. Access to immunization is also crucial to achieving the sustainable development goals. The routine immunization is a building block of strong primary healthcare and universal healthcare coverage. This may provide a point of contact for healthcare and may offer the child a healthy life from the very beginning.

Benefits

Higher immunization rates could protect a wider community which includes

  • Infants who are too young to receive the vaccines
  • Older adults who are at a risk of serious diseases
  • People who take medications which could lower their immune systems


Vaccines to Build A Secure World
Vaccines may help to provide a healthy childhood and a fulfilling adulthood. The World Immunization Week will witness the organization of thousands of events and activities around the world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has also created a network of validated vaccine safety websites called Vaccine Safety Net, which provides accurate and reliable information about vaccines.

References:

  1. World Immunization Week, 24-30 April 2017 - (http://www.who.int/campaigns/immunization-week/2017/en/)
  2. World Immunization Week - (http://www.who.int/life-course/news/events/world-immunization-week-2017/en/)
  3. World Immunization Week 2017: #VaccinesWork - (http://www.emro.who.int/media/news/world-immunization-week-2017-vaccineswork.html)
Source-Medindia


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