This World Immunization Week, let’s give all kids a shot at life

Shannan Younger — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 19:27:10 +0000

One thing that parents have in common is a desire to protect their children. We all dream of seeing our kids grow up safe and healthy. That dream does not become a reality for many, however, because around the world, a child dies every 20 seconds from a vaccine-preventable disease.

That statistic shocked me when I first learned it. Perhaps it shouldn’t have. I remember when my daughter received her first round of vaccinations as an infant. “I’ve seen every single one of these diseases and they are awful. You do not want your child to ever have to face them,” my pediatrician reassured me.

I’m lucky. I live in the United States and the doctor’s office is a short drive away. In some part of the world, mothers walk 25 miles in one day to get their kids vaccines that will protect them from those deadly diseases. In Haiti, for example, which is less than 2,000 miles away from Chicago, parents must go to tremendous effort to secure vaccines for their kids.

Still other parents have no access to those immunizations at all. “when I talk to a mother in Chicago about access to vaccines and I talk to a mom in Mozambique, I get completely different answers,” says Devi Thomas, director of Shot@Life, a campaign by the United Nations Foundation to educate, connect, and empower individuals to champion global vaccines. “These children are no different from the children in our own lives and they lack the access to basic health services that our children have.”

One in five children around the world lacks access to immunizations they need to stay healthy. Lack of access is one of the big reasons approximately 1.5 million children in developing countries die each year from diseases like measles, polio, and pneumonia, diseases that are all easily preventable. If you’re wondering about the impact of vaccines, check out these graphics by the Wall Street Journal.

Immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective means to help children grow into healthy adults. We have made enormous progress, but there is more work to be. World Immunization Week, which is held during the last week of April, is a campaign by World Health Organization that aims to raise awareness on the critical importance of full immunization throughout life.

If you’re wondering if this impacts those of us in the U.S., it does. Remember that diseases don’t need a passport to travel. The recent measles outbreak illustrates that these diseases can have a big impact in the U.S., and that such an outbreak can be costly. Immune compromised children in our area, such as those who have undergone treatment for cancer or organ transplants, are particularly susceptible to these diseases.

If you find it unacceptable that more than 300 kids in the world die each day from measles and think that eradicating polio in the two nations where it remains would be a great thing, there are things you can do. Tell your lawmakers that you care about funding for global vaccines, which makes up less than one percent of the U.S. federal budget.

Shot@Life has a website that makes it easy to send a letter or email to your representatives in Congress here. You can also become a Shot@Life Champion who advocates for global vaccines to their policymakers and within their communities. You can register to be a Champion here.

In addition, every dollar donated helps send a vaccine, so a $20 donation protects 20 kids. Let’s give all kids a shot at life. Donations can be made to Shot@Life here.

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