World Immunization Week, a World Health Organization campaign that runs the last week of April (April 24-30), aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease.
Immunization saves millions of lives every year and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective health interventions, WHO said. Yet, there are still nearly 20 million unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children in the world today.
“Vaccine Hesitancy” is one of the Top Ten Global Health Threats of 2019, according to WHO.
The reasons why people choose not to vaccinate are complex; a vacine advisory group to WHO identified complacency, inconvenience in accessing vaccines, and lack of confidence as key reasons underlying complacency, WHO states on its website.
Promoted by such partners as Rotary International, the theme for this year’s World Immunization Week is “Protected together: Vaccines work” and the campaign will celebrate vaccine heroes from all around the world – from parents and community members to health workers and innovators – who help ensure people are protected through the power of vaccines.
