The last week of April each year is marked by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners as World Immunization Week. It aims to raise public awareness of how immunization saves lives, encouraging people everywhere to vaccinate themselves and their children against deadly diseases. This year, World Immunization Weekwas observed on 24-30 April with the message, “Close the Immunization Gap”. As part of the week-long event, the African Vaccination Week was held with the theme, “Vaccination: a gift for life”. 

The fifth African Vaccination Week in Ethiopia was officially launched in Afar Region on 23 April 2015 in an event that brought together Ethiopia’s immunization partners, the government and other stakeholders for a renewal of commitments to ensure that every child is reached with immunization. 

Immunization averts an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths every year from vaccine preventable diseases. Global vaccination coverage—the proportion of the world’s children who receive recommended vaccines—has remained steady for the past few years. However, progress towards global vaccination targets for 2015 is off-track with 1 in 5 children still missing out on routine life-saving immunizations that could avert 1.5 million deaths each year from preventable diseases. In light of this, at this year’s African Vaccination Week, WHO is calling for renewed efforts to get progress back on course.

In 2012, all 194 WHO Member States at the World Health Assembly endorsed the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), a commitment to ensure that no one misses out on vital immunization. However, a recent independent assessment report on GVAP warned that vaccines are not being delivered equitably or reliably.

The GVAP recommends three key steps for closing the immunization gap: integrating immunization with other health services, such as postnatal care for mothers and babies; strengthening health systems so that vaccines continue to be given even in times of crisis; and ensuring that everyone can access vaccines and afford to pay for them.

During the launch of African Vaccination Week in Semera, Afar, the WHO Representative commended Ethiopia’s progress in immunization coverage, which registered 87% coverage in 2014, and underscored the need to implement strategies relevant to hard-to-reach areas to enhance defaulter tracing and reach unvaccinated children so that the commendable national immunization coverage can be registered in low-coverage regions like Afar.

Present at African Vaccination Week Launch were the House of Peoples Representatives, Federal Ministry of Health and regional government officials, WHO, UNICEF, PATH, CCRDA/CORE Group, CHAI, JSI-UI-FHS, Rotary International, Women, Youth and Children's Affairs and Islamic Affairs representatives as well as mothers and children.

For more information, please contact:

Dr Fiona Braka
Maternal and Child Health Cluster Head
WHO Ethiopia
Email: brakaf [at] who.int 

Photos: WHO Ethiopia/ Abate Damte