The United Nations Children’s Fund and Gavi Vaccine Alliance warned at the start of World Immunization Week that immunization efforts are under growing threat as misinformation, population growth, humanitarian crises, and funding cuts jeopardize progress and leave millions of children, adolescents, and adults at risk.
“Outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases such as measles, meningitis, and yellow fever are rising globally, and diseases like diphtheria that have been long held at bay or virtually disappeared in many countries are at risk of reemerging,” they said in a statement as they called on governments worldwide for urgent and sustained political attention, and investment to strengthen immunization programs.
“Vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past five decades,” World Health Organization director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“Funding cuts to global health have put these hard-win gains in jeopardy. Outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases are increasing around the world, putting lives at risk and exposing countries to increased costs in treating diseases and responding to outbreaks. Countries with limited resources must invest in the highest-impact interventions – and that includes vaccines,” he added.
In the Philippines, the impact of foreign aid cuts of the United States starting January this year has yet to be fully felt, but the Department of Health has said it would find various sources of alternative funding for its affected programs, including vaccination.
Based on data from the DOH as of February, only 64 percent or 1,542,282 out of the 2,392,392 Filipino children aged 0-12 months are fully vaccinated. This is still far from the target of 95 percent to achieve herd immunity and prevent outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases.
The challenges being faced by immunization efforts globally, not only in the Philippines, are numerous, as the efforts are faced with so many threats that have cropped up in recent times, exacerbated by a population that has forgotten how it is to live with the infectious and deadly diseases that had been virtually eradicated by vaccines.
Those who either understand the value of vaccines or remember how such diseases threatened so many lives when vaccines were not yet available will have to face the challenge of convincing enough of the world to vaccinate and achieve herd immunity. That means the government and private sector working together closely to combat the misinformation, along with the host of challenges that face vaccination programs during this day and age.*
