The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other agencies and non-profit organizations to reverse a pandemic-caused decline in routine childhood vaccinations.
The initiative was launched on Monday by the WHO, UNICEF, the Gavi vaccine alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others, and aims to protect countries from outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and yellow fever.
Efforts will focus on increasing vaccination rates in 20 countries, which represent 75% of children who missed vaccinations in 2021.
“WHO is supporting dozens of countries to restore immunization and other essential health services. Updating is a priority. No child should die from a vaccine-preventable disease,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Vaccination rates among children during the pandemic have taken a hit due to overcrowded clinics, lockdowns and interruptions in transporting vials, syringes and other medical supplies.
According to WHO, 25 million children under one year of age did not receive core vaccines in 2021 and global immunization coverage for children dropped to 81% that year from 86% in 2019.
People around the world have lost confidence in the importance of routine childhood vaccines against deadly diseases such as measles and polio during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a UNICEF report last week.
Source: CNN Brasil
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