Vaccines: A Top Priority for Global Health
By: Olivier Charmeil
Vaccines can easily become the “forgotten hero” for the enormous impact they have had on global health. When vaccines are successful, they prevent infectious diseases, many of which become forgotten over time. Mass vaccination programs have significantly improved global health and decreased mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases, such as smallpox, polio, pertussis and diphtheria. In high-income countries, lower respiratory infections are the only infectious diseases among the 10 leading causes of death. However, vaccine-preventable diseases remain prevalent and responsible for excessive mortality in poorer nations, particularly in children. According to the World Health Organization, as many as 2.5 million children may die of vaccine-preventable diseases in a single year.
Since the inception of the WHO Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in 1974, much progress has been made in vaccinating children around the globe against infectious diseases. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) recognized vaccination as a collective activity and increased the global immunization effort. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s 2010 commitment to infuse $10 billion into immunizations during the next 10 years – Decade of Vaccines – has the potential to decrease morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases to historical lows.
