The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed grave
concern that one-fifth of the world’s children do not receive routine
life-saving vaccination.
Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele, director of the WHO Department of
Immunization in Geneva, expressed concern on Wednesday that “there are still
1.5 million premature deaths due to vaccine preventable diseases each year.”
Back in 2013, some 22 million infants missed out on routine
vaccination against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus (DTP3). Most of the
unvaccinated children belong to the world’s poorest countries, while almost
half of them live in India, Pakistan and Nigeria.
The cost of vaccines, weak health systems and lack of access
in poorer countries, as well as armed conflicts and insecurity, are among some
reasons mentioned for the lack of progress.
1 comment:
plently of myths about vaccines.
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