Immunization

5 December 2019

Immunization is one of modern medicine’s greatest success stories. Time and again, the international community has endorsed the value of vaccines and immunization to prevent and control a large number of infectious and, increasingly, cancers and other chronic diseases.

Expanding access to immunization is crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Not only do vaccinations prevent sickness and death associated with infectious diseases such as diarrhoea, measles, pneumonia, polio and whooping cough, they also hold up broader gains in education and economic development.

UN Foundation/Stuart Ramson

Immunization currently prevents 4-5 million deaths every year

Immunization prevents deaths every year in all age groups from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), influenza and measles. It is one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions. An additional 1.5 million deaths could be avoided, however, if global vaccination coverage improves.

UN Foundation/Stuart Ramson

Most children today receive lifesaving vaccines

During 2018, an estimated 116.3 million (about 86%) children under the age of one year worldwide received three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccine. These children are protected against infectious diseases that can cause serious illness or disability and be fatal.

American Red Cross/Daniel Cima

An estimated 19.7 million children under the age of one year did not receive basic vaccines

Around 60% of these children live in ten countries: Angola, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Viet Nam.

WHO

Important progress has been made in vaccine research and development

The first vaccine to protect children against malaria is being piloted in three African countries from 2019. Vaccines to protect against Ebola are under development and have been used to help control the spread of Ebola outbreaks in Guinea and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). And results of an ongoing trial of a vaccine candidate shows promise for prevention of tuberculosis disease.

WHO/Rodrigue Barry

Meningitis A epidemics have been drastically reduced in Africa through immunization

Meningitis A is an infection that can cause severe brain damage and is often deadly. Since the introduction of the meningitis A vaccine in Africa in December 2010, mass vaccination campaigns have led to the control and near elimination of the deadly meningitis A disease in 26 African “meningitis belt” countries. The vaccine is now being integrated into routine national immunization programmes.

Measles & Rubella Initiative/Daniel Cima

Global measles mortality has declined by 73%

Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus, which usually results in a high fever and rash and can lead to serious disability, infections or death. Global measles deaths have decreased by 73% from an estimated 536 000 deaths in 2000 to 142 000 in 2018. Accelerated immunization activities have had a major impact on reducing measles deaths.

WHO/Christine McNab

More countries are using human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine against cervical cancer

The HPV vaccine protects girls against cervical cancer later in life. As of 2018, 90 countries – home to 1 in 3 girls worldwide – had introduced the HPV vaccine in their national immunization programmes. Clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance have shown that HPV vaccines are very safe and effective in preventing infections with HPV.

Tuuli Hongisto

The world is closer than ever to eradicating polio

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that can cause irreversible paralysis. Based on the latest data, 85% of infants around the world received three doses of polio vaccine. Targeted for global eradication, transmission of wild poliovirus is now restricted to just three countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria.

UN/Eskinder Debebe

Maternal and neonatal tetanus now eliminated in three regions of the world

Three WHO regions have now eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus: South-East Asia - home to nearly one quarter of the global population; the region of the Americas, and the European region. WHO estimates that in 2017 (the latest year for which estimates are available), close to 31,000 newborns died from neonatal tetanus. A significant number of women also die to due to maternal tetanus every year. The disease can be prevented through hygienic birth practices and immunization.

WHO/Christine McNab

Vaccines serve as a frontline defence against antimicrobial resistance

Vaccines can help limit the spread of antibiotic resistance. The global increase in disease caused by drug-resistant bacteria, due to overuse and misuse of antibiotics, is a major public health concern. Vaccinating humans and animals is a very effective way to stop them from getting infected and thereby preventing the need for antibiotics. Making better use of existing vaccines and developing new vaccines are important ways to tackle antibiotic resistance and reduce preventable illness and deaths.

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