World immunization week 2018

World Immunization Week, celebrated also in Western Pacific Region from 24–30 April 2018, aims to highlight that immunization is a powerful tool to protect us against vaccine-preventable diseases. Great progress has been already made in the Western Pacific Region (WPR): together, through immunization, we eliminated poliomyelitis from all WPR countries, we eliminated measles in eight countries, and we eliminated hepatitis B among children in 19 countries. However collective action is needed to ensure that achievements are sustained, further progress is made and every person in the Region is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Immunization saves millions of lives and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective health interventions. Vaccines save up to 3 million lives each year worldwide from infectious diseases, such as hepatitis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), measles and polio. Still, despite the proven effectiveness of vaccines and the tens of millions of lives they have saved, an estimated 400 000 people die needlessly every year in the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Western Pacific Region from diseases that vaccines could prevent. In the Region every year, up to 800 000 children go unvaccinated and more than 3.2 million children live in districts with immunization coverage of less than 80%.

The goal of World Immunization Week 2018 is to urge greater action on immunization, with particular focus on highlighting the role that everyone can play in this effort: parents, health-care workers, policy-makers, media, and ultimately everyone, to work together to ensure that every child in every country gets the vaccines they need. This year’s theme: “Protected Together, #VaccinesWork”, encourages people at every level, from policy makers to parents, to go further in their efforts to increase immunization coverage for the greater good.