World Immunization Week, observed annually during the last week of April, began on Wednesday with the launch of a campaign by two UN agencies: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the international vaccination alliance Gavi to scale up life-saving initiatives.
With support from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Humanly Possible collaborative global communication campaign seeks to increase immunization programs globally. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said, “Thanks to vaccinations, more children now survive and thrive past their fifth birthday than at any other point in history.”
WHO, UNICEF, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation were among the principal founding members of Gavi. This vaccine alliance was established in 2000 with the goal of enhancing the effectiveness of EPI. It assists the world’s poorest nations in boosting coverage, gaining access to new, life-saving vaccines, and broadening the scope of protection against an increasing number of diseases that can be prevented by vaccination.
Today, Gavi has helped to protect a whole generation of children and now provides vaccines against 20 infectious diseases, said the alliance’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Sania Nishtar.
As one of the world’s biggest vaccine purchasers, UNICEF purchases about two billion doses annually for multiple nations and partners to reach nearly half of all children on the planet. It also guarantees that even remote and underserved communities have access to immunization services by distributing vaccinations to the last mile to enhance immunization coverage. The head of the corporation stated that collaboration is key.
The main objective of World Immunization Week is to increase the number of individuals and their communities who are immune to diseases that can be prevented by vaccination.
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