World Health Organisation (WHO)

trueMessage of the WHO Country Representative for Uganda, Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu, on the Ocasion of the third African Vaccination Week 22 – 27 April 2014

The establishment of the week is in response to a resolution adopted by Ministers of Health at the sixtieth session o  the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in 2010 “to institutionalize an annual African Vaccination Week for sustaining advocacy, expanding community participation and improving immunization service delivery.”

“The goal of the African Vaccination Week initiative is to strengthen immunization programmes in the Region by drawing attention to, and increasing awareness of the importance, the need and the right of all persons to be protected against vaccinepreventable
diseases”,

Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu
WHO Regional Director

This year, African Vaccination Week will be celebrated from 22 to 27 April under the theme --“Vaccination - a shared responsibility”.

The theme highlights the role and importance of governments, health care workers, parents, families and communities -- all doing their part to support immunization. Everybody has a role to play in fighting vaccinepreventable diseases such as polio, whooping cough, measles, tetanus, diphtheria, influenza, diarrhea, pneumonia, hepatitis and cervical cancers.

Vaccination prevents infections and protects us all – infants, children, adolescents and adults.

Immunization prevents between 2 and 3 million deaths every year. Without vaccines, global eradication of smallpox and elimination of poliomyelitis and measles from large parts of the world would have been impossible. New, improved vaccines are now available to protect not just children, but also adolescents and adults.

Yet 1 in 5 children, and many adults, are missing out. A lack of knowledge about vaccination is a key reason why some adults consciously choose not to get vaccinated themselves or to vaccinate their children. For this year’s Immunization Week campaign, on 22-27 April, we encourage all mothers and caretakers in Uganda to access the nearest health facility and get the vaccines they need.

Over the next seven days, all districts will undertake a variety of activities that will: raise awareness on the lifesaving value of immunization; seek to increase vaccination coverage; reach underserved, marginalized and hard-to-reach populations with  existing and new high impact child survival packages and other life-saving interventions.

It is gratifying to note that since we started celebrating Vaccination Week three years ago, 40 countries in our Region are  participating in this historic initiative, signaling to the world that immunization is a regional and national priority.

I am proud to say that the Uganda is making good progress in addressing vaccinepreventable diseases.

The Routine Immunization Coverage is currently at 98% for DPT 3 as of December 2013. The elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus had been validated in 2012. The introduction of newer vaccines such as pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and HPV vaccines is being scaled up.

We are even on the verge of eradicating polio. Nigeria remains the only endemic country in the region.

My appeal to all during this week and beyond is to ensure that our immunization status is up to date and that communities understand and demand immunization services. Vaccination is as good for children as it is for adolescents, adults and senior citizens. We should all vaccinate to save lives and prevent disabilities.