'Protected Together - Vaccines Work!'

Today is the start of World Immunization Week (24 - 30 April) which aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. Immunization saves millions of lives every year and is widely recognized as one of the worlds most successful and cost-effective health interventions. Yet, there are still nearly 20 million unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children in the world today. The theme this year is Protected Together: Vaccines Work!, celebrating Vaccine Heroes from around the world - from parents and community members to health workers and innovators - who help ensure we are all protected through the power of vaccines.

Earlier this month one of those heroes, Nurse Edmund Duodo joined the RESULTS UK network conference call from Ghana, sharing his experience of working directly with the hardest to reach communities. Edmund helped us to learn more about the incredible work that health workers are doing in Ghana to ensure that children are receiving vital vaccinations. On the call Edmund spoke of some of the problems he faces. In Lake Volta (one of the largest man made lakes in the world) where there are many island communities health workers have to hire canoes and outboard motor boats from the local people in order to reach the children on these islands.

Ghana's immunisation programme would not have been possible without the support of GAVI, the vaccine alliance. The creation of Gavi in 2000 dramatically increased the funding available for immunisation. . Edmund also told us how bodies like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance work with the government to overcome cultural and logistical barriers to immunization, and the huge progress they have seen with coverage rates and disease eradication in the last two decades. Measles, which used to kill more Ghanaian children than any illness apart from malaria, has been all but eradicated. In the year 2000 when GAVI started working with the Ghanaian government there were 23,068 reported cases of Measles. In 2017 there were just 19 cases of Measles in the entire country.

When speaking about the problems he faced Edmund commented that "Ghana is very religious and there are some religious organisations that are against immunisation - this is a challenge for us!"

On 20th March 2019 the Pontifical Academy for Life, a group appointed by the pope, released an updated Catholic position unequivocally in favour of all vaccinations saying that there is a "moral obligation to guarantee the vaccination coverage necessary for the safety of others." Although the statement was released in 2017, the position was only recently made public, an apparent acknowledgment of the heightening health problems created by the unvaccinated. In fact Vaccine hesitancy (delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services) is one of the three of the global health threats the World Health Organization has pledged to make a priority in 2019.

Measles is a highly contagious disease that in severe cases can lead to complications such as blindness, epilepsy, pneumonia and infection, swelling of the brain and death.

According to the American Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA more measles cases occurred in the first three months of 2019 than in all of 2018. In Europe too Measles cases in Europe tripled between 2017 and 2018 to 82,596 while in the UK, there were 953 measles cases in 2018. It is to be hoped that with its statement the Vatican has removed one of those barriers to vaccination.

Through funding GAVI the UK has helped immunise 67.1 million children against vaccine-preventable diseases, saving 1.4 million lives. Without historic and current UK support, the remarkable achievements the world has made in immunisation would not have been possible. In 2020, the UK will host GAVI's replenishment conference and it is to be hoped that this is a good sign that it intends to remain a leader in immunisation funding.

And there is much good news to celebrate. Mindful of the difficulties of reaching hard to reach' communities this month with GAVI's help Ghana will launch a drone delivery service for a range of medical products, including vaccines. The drone fleet and launch sites are designed and run by the California-based robotics company Zipline, supported by a partnership with Gavi and UPS, the international package delivery and supply chain management company. By offering an "on-demand" service, additional vaccines can be sent quickly to health clinics to ensure that there is precisely the right number of doses available, depending on how many infants attend the vaccination session, ensuring that no one goes without.

Since its inception in 2000 GAVI has contributed to the immunisation of 690 million children, preventing more than 10 million deaths. While overall financial resources for immunisation have risen, it will be vital for GAVI to be fully replenished in 2020 to continue it's work to work toward global vaccination targets. The World Health Organization says that we need the help of all heroes everywhere to reach the 1 in 10 children who still do not have access to vaccines. Why not be a Vaccine hero and spread the message that #Vaccines Work? World Immunizations Week (24-30 April) is a chance to show the importance of supporting these global health institutions. Now is a critical time for parliamentarians and the Government to understand the importance of a strong, coordinated global approach to vaccination, and to continue the UK's historic leadership in vaccination.

Each of us needs to let our MP know that we are concerned that the UK government continues to be a leader in saving the lives of children through vaccination.

For more details see:

www.results.org.uk/news/fully-immunised-child

To know more about GAVI's work in Ghana see: www.gavi.org/delivering/ghana/