There are still 30 million infants in the developing world who are not
immunized before their first birthday.
More than 900,000 children under five still die each year from measles.
Neonatal tetanus kills 200,000 each year.
Annually, 370,000 under-fives die from whooping cough and 50,000 from
tuberculosis.
Diphtheria has re-emerged in parts of the former Soviet Union.
Half of all pregnant women are not immunized against maternal tetanus,
which kills 30,000 women every year.
The continuation of this suffering and loss of life contravenes the
natural human instinct to help in times of disaster. Imagine the horror of the world if a
major earthquake were to occur and people stood by and watched without assisting the
survivors! Yet every day, the equivalent of a major earthquake killing over 30,000 young
children occurs to a disturbingly muted response. They die quietly in some of the poorest
villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being
meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.
All children everywhere must be able to enjoy the benefits of science and
experience developed around vaccines. All children everywhere, without discrimination,
have and must be able to enjoy equal rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by all but two
countries, binds the world in a compact to realize these rights. Distance and remoteness
must therefore neither blind our vision, blunt our feelings, nor stall our response to
this numbing, recurrent tragedy. It is our collective responsibility to see that these
deaths are prevented.
And they are preventable. We can and must now go the distance and finish
what so desperately remains to be done by unleashing the full power of immunization
against the six traditional child-killer diseases.
Measles is still a severe threat, especially in South Asia and sub-Saharan
Africa, and efforts are needed to stop the downward slide in measles coverage that
occurred in Africa during the 1990s.
Half of the infants born in developing countries are unprotected against
tetanus and 200,000 die from the disease each year because their mothers have not been
immunized with tetanus toxoid. And as infants die, so too do women: In parts of Africa,
fewer than 40 per cent of women are immunized against tetanus. In rural pockets of China
and India, 10 per cent or less may be protected.
Whooping cough (pertussis) still afflicts 20 million to 40 million people
every year, primarily in developing countries, although a pertussis vaccine has been
available for more than 70 years.
Efforts to reach the unreached must go hand in hand with the improvement
of immunization safety. Reuse of unsterilized needles, poor hygiene at the time of
vaccination and inadequate waste disposal are the main culprits. Failures in the cold
chain to maintain vaccines at the proper temperature are also a problem. Personnel must be
trained and systems introduced to prevent these dangerous practices.
The Safe Injection Global Network – which links international organizations,
NGOs and private sector entities – is promoting the use of syringes that function only for a
single dose. It is also investigating the possibility of introducing vaccines that
don’t require needles for delivery, but can be given through other methods, including
oral doses, jet ejectors, nasal sprays, skin creams and even genetically modified foods.
A clear priority now is to renew commitment at all levels to attain the
immunization goals. The net must be cast wider to reach all those who have not been
reached thus far – the poor, the displaced, people living in far-flung villages, children living on the
streets, refugees and people living in areas of conflict. Extensive educational and
outreach campaigns must be mounted in countries with high incidences of disease.
Governments must renew their commitment and resolve problems caused by corruption,
inadequate services and mismanagement.
