[afro-nets] Too Few Children and Women Immunized - UN Report

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Despite Low Cost Vaccines, Too Few Children and Women Immunized
­ UN Report
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Download the Report as Adobe PDF file (32 pp. 2.3 MB!) in English:
<http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2005n3/PFC3_English2005.pdf>http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2005n3/PFC3_English2005.pdf
in 
French: 
<http://www.unicef.org/french/progressforchildren/2005n3/>http<http://www.unicef.org/french/progressforchildren/2005n3/>://www.unicef.org/french/progressforchildren/2005n3/
in Spanish: 
<http://www.unicef.org/spanish/progressforchildren/2005n3/>http://www.unicef.org/spanish/progressforchildren/2005n3/


With vaccine-preventable diseases killing some 1.4 million chil-
dren under five annually, the United Nations Children?s Fund
(http://www.unicef.org/media/media_28400.html) UNICEF warned to-
day that an estimated 27 million children and 40 million preg-
nant women are not being immunized each year and 41 countries
are protecting fewer youngsters than a decade ago.

We need to protect the gains we have made in many countries and
expand our efforts in others it is said in the latest Progress
for Children.

Immunization is currently preventing some 2 million deaths among
children under five every year and the study shows that 103
countries are already protecting 90 per cent of their children
against vaccine-preventable diseases while another 16 are making
steady progress. But in 74 countries programmes have not kept
up, or progress is too slow, particularly in West and Central
Africa.

The major killers are measles, haemophilus influenzae type b
(Hib), whooping cough (pertussis) and neonatal tetanus, all of
which are preventable with vaccines that are currently available
at low cost.

In the near future, an additional 1.1 million deaths could be
prevented with vaccines against pneumococcus and rotavirus, im-
portant causes of severe pneumonia and diarrhea in developing
countries. In total, immunization programmes could reduce deaths
among children under five by almost one-quarter if coverage of
more than 90 per cent can be attained for routine immunization.

The report shows some harsh regional inequities. In 2003, the
last year for which there is comprehensive data, 90 per cent of
children in industrialized countries were protected by immuniza-
tion and most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Cen-
tral and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States,
Middle East and North Africa have also made progress.

But the majority of countries in West and Central Africa, where
only 52 per cent of children are routinely vaccinated, still
need to rapidly improve their immunization programmes. The news,
however, is not all bad. Coverage rates in some resource-poor
countries have improved dramatically. Eritrea has expanded rou-
tine immunization coverage from 18 per cent in 1990 to 84 per
cent in 2003, Niger from 25 per cent to 64 per cent and Uganda
from 52 per cent to 82 per cent.

In addition, measles-related mortality, according to a recent
article published in the Lancet, has dropped by almost half over
the last five years, thanks to the success of mass measles immu-
nization campaigns. Within five years, measles could be the
first in the list of key vaccine-preventable diseases that be-
come rare in developing countries.