New Delhi [India], April 29 : The World Health Organisation South East Asia Regional Director, Saima Wazed, stressed the importance of vaccines for a healthier future.
Wazed, in a video statement on Tuesday, said that vaccines are safe, save lives, and immunisation for all is essential.
"Each year, in the last week of April, we come together to celebrate World Immunisation Week - a powerful reminder of the life-saving impact of vaccines. This year's theme, "Immunisation for all is humanly possible," reinforces our collective commitment to protect every individual, at every age, from vaccine-preventable diseases," she said.
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Children protected against infectious diseases have better educational attainment and contribute more to national development and prosperity.
Wazed stated that, over the last 50 years, vaccines have saved approximately six lives per minute.
"Over the last 50 years, vaccines have saved over 154 million lives globally--an average of six lives every minute. Our WHO South-East Asia Region has been at the forefront, with an estimated 38 million lives saved across the Region," he said.
Wazed highlighted that the WHO has maintained its status as wild poliovirus-free, while maternal and neonatal tetanus remain public health concerns.
"We have successfully maintained our wild poliovirus-free status and have upheld the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus as a public health concern. Four of our countries have eliminated measles, five have eliminated rubella, and six have achieved control of hepatitis B through immunisation," she said.
"This has all led to unprecedented improvements in childhood survival. In the past two years, three of our countries have launched national HPV vaccination programmes. This is a major step forward in protecting adolescents' health. Today, our region proudly vaccinates over 40 million pregnant women and 37 million newborns each year. We also contribute 46% of the global vaccine supply," she added.
Wazed also highlighted that challenges persist, as even now, over 2 million children remain unvaccinated.
"Yet, despite all of this, challenges persist. More than 2 million children remain completely unvaccinated. The growing threat of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks reminds us that our efforts must continue," she said.
Wazed said that, as contributions to their budget from various nations continue to shrink, it poses a significant challenge to them.
"Shrinking global health budgets are placing additional strain on immunisation programmes, on surveillance systems, and on outbreak response capacities," she said.
Wazed appealed to the people to end vaccine hesitancy and go for routine immunisation.
"To protect our progress and reach every child, we must invest in routine immunisation. We must embrace innovation and combat vaccine hesitancy and ensure that no one--regardless of geography or circumstance--is left behind. The path forward demands united efforts--by governments, health workers, communities, and partners," she said.
"On World Immunisation Week, join us in spreading the message that vaccines are safe, that vaccines save lives, and immunisation for all is essential. To do this would be to protect our greatest achievement - vaccines, and our greatest treasure - our children," she added.