The World Health Organization (WHO) says vaccines have saved over 150 million lives in the past 50 years, as people worldwide chose to protect themselves, their children, and their communities from diseases such as measles, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, and rotavirus.
In a statement issued on Friday to mark the start of World Immunisation Week (April 24–30), WHO reaffirmed its commitment to expanding vaccine access and awareness.
Throughout the week, WHO and its partners are spotlighting the benefits of immunisation at every stage of life, along with scientific advances that have produced proven vaccines against diseases including malaria, HPV, cholera, dengue, meningitis, RSV, Ebola, and mpox.
READ ALSO: WHO Urges Science-Driven Health Investment
This year also represents the halfway point of the Immunisation Agenda 2030, a WHO-led global effort to ensure universal access to life-saving vaccines.
A recent progress report indicates that, despite major challenges—such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, climate disruptions, and funding constraints immunisation programmes over the past five years have prevented millions of deaths.
However, many targets remain unmet, with ongoing gaps in routine vaccine coverage, equity, and outbreak prevention in several countries.
WHO is therefore urging renewed global commitment to building stronger, more sustainable national immunisation systems, better integration with primary healthcare, and increased prioritisation by international health partners.
Also on Friday, the WHO, alongside UNICEF and Gavi, announced that “The Big Catch-up”, a major global initiative launched in 2023 to reverse pandemic-related declines in vaccination, has reached about 18.3 million children aged one to five across 36 countries.
The campaign has also delivered 23 million doses of inactivated polio vaccine to children who were unvaccinated or under-vaccinated, a key step toward eradicating polio. The initiative remains on course to meet its goal of vaccinating at least 21 million children.
NAN