Chronicle EditorStaying healthy is a priority for all of us and receiving routine immunisations is one of the simplest ways to prevent diseases. Missing or overlooking vaccines could result not only in serious medical conditions, but also extreme medical bills and not being able to care for your family.
Immunisation is highly effective and is estimated to prevent 2.5 million deaths every year worldwide. Yet one in five children do not receive them. A lack of knowledge about the effectiveness of the vaccines is a key reason why many do not receive them.
In efforts to raise awareness, African countries have united to celebrate African Vaccination Week from April 22 to 27. Vaccination has greatly reduced the burden of infectious diseases and is now considered to be a basic human right.
The scaling up of immunisation coverage is vital to achieving the 2015 Millennium Development Goals that were set by the United Nations. Immunisations can significantly reduce child mortality rates but it also supports the goals of attaining universal primary school education and reducing extreme poverty and hunger.
The particularly high child mortality rate in the African region is widely recognised as one of the greatest challenges in achieving the MDGs. Children in sub-Saharan Africa are over 16 times more likely to die before the age of five than children in more developed regions.
According to the World Health Organisation, “children are at greater risk of dying before age five if they are born in rural areas, poor households, or to a mother denied basic education. Malnourished children, particularly those with severe acute malnutrition, have a higher risk of death from common childhood illness such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, and malaria.”
The African Vaccination Week’s theme ‘Vaccination – a shared responsibility’ highlights how everybody has a role to play in fighting the 25 vaccine-preventable diseases.
Vaccine-preventable diseases include but are not limited to hepatitis B, polio, whooping cough, measles, tetanus, diphtheria, influenza, pneumonia, hepatitis and cervical cancers.
Hepatitis is a significant concern in the African region and most people become infected during childhood. In highly affected areas, hepatitis B is most commonly spread from mother-to-child at birth or from person-to-person in early childhood. Up to 90 percent of infants infected during their first year of life will develop chronic infections that can lead to scarring of the liver and liver cancer.
Hepatitis B vaccine is known to be 95 percent effective in preventing infection and its chronic consequences, and was the first vaccine against a major human cancer. The WHO recommends that all infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine as soon as possible after birth, preferably within 24 hours.
Measles is another significant vaccine-preventable disease that causes 122 000 deaths globally – about 330 deaths every day or 14 deaths every hour.
Since 2000, more than 1 billion children in high-risk countries have been vaccinated against measles through mass vaccination campaigns. In 2012, the WHO reports that about 84 percent of children have received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday – up from 72 percent in 2000.
Despite some success, it’s not time to become complacent. The diseases we can vaccinate against will return if we stop vaccination programmes. This year’s African Vaccination Week is an opportunity to help reach the high-risk remainder. Failure to vaccinate this group can leave all infants, children, adolescents and adults unnecessarily vulnerable.
Take the following steps to reduce your risk:
Talk with a healthcare professional about which vaccines are right for you;
Get vaccinated;
Keep track of your vaccinations and make sure you’re up-to-date;
Encourage your friends and family to get vaccinated.
During African Vaccination Week, use hashtag #RUuptodate and tweet @WHO if you have any questions about vaccination.
The writer is a doctor and an international health columnist that works in collaboration with the World Health Organisation’s goals of disease prevention and control. Views do not necessarily reflect endorsement.
Online Reporter