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11:57 GMT
GENEVA, April 24 (KUNA) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has commenced the World Immunization Week to promote the significance of using vaccines to protect the health of people of all ages against diseases in general.
This year's World Immunization Week campaign, which is being organized under the theme: "Are you up-to-date?", seeks to address the knowledge gap which can prevent people from getting vaccinated.
The WHO said in a report immunization is widely recognized as one of the most successful and cost-effective health interventions ever introduced. It prevents between two and three million deaths every year and now protects children not only against diseases for which vaccines have been available for many years, such as diphtheria, tetanus, polio and measles, but also against diseases such as pneumonia and rotavirus diarrhea, two of the biggest killers of children under 5.
Furthermore, adolescents and adults can now be protected against life-threatening diseases such as influenza, meningitis, and cancers (cervical and liver cancers), thanks to new and sophisticated vaccines, it said.
Despite this success, 1 in 5 children are still missing out. In 2012 an estimated 22.6 million infants were not reached with routine immunization services. More than half of these children live in just three countries: India, Indonesia and Nigeria, it added.
Inadequate supply of vaccines, lack of access to health workers, and insufficient political and financial support account for a large proportion of people who start but don't finish national immunization schedules, it noted.
A lack of knowledge about vaccination, on the other hand, is one of the key reasons why adults consciously choose not to get vaccinated themselves or to vaccinate their children, the WHO report showed.
This year's immunization campaign has specific goals are for people around the world to know what vaccines are available to protect against disease; be motivated to check the vaccination status of themselves and their families; and get the vaccines they need from their local health practitioner, it indicated. (end)
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