Immunization
The Big Picture
Immunization is a global public health success story. In 1979, as a result of the first worldwide immunization campaign, smallpox was certified to be eradicated. In the 1980s, immunization coverage against diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus rose from less than 20 per cent of the global population to more than 70 per cent. In the 1990s, deaths from measles and tetanus sharply declined. Today, eradication of polio is just around the corner. Immunization has saved millions and has enabled others to lead longer, healthier lives.
Yet these advances have not reached all parts of the globe equally. More than 30 million children in the world are not immunized either because vaccines are unavailable, because health services are poorly provided or inaccessible, or because families are uninformed or misinformed about when and why to bring their children for immunization. In sub-Saharan Africa, only about 50 per cent of children are immunized during their first year of life.
As a result, more than 2 million children die unnecessarily each year.
UNICEF in Action
For decades, UNICEF has been a leading player in global immunization and vitamin A supplementation, which is credited with saving the lives of about 2.5 million children each year.
Immunization ‘plus’ is the delivery of vaccines and other cost-effective interventions that have the greatest impact on reducing child and maternal mortality and morbidity. The ‘plus’ may include vitamin A supplements, birth registration, growth monitoring, malaria prevention, and pre- and postnatal care. As part of immunization ‘plus’, supplementation with vitamin A is considered the minimum intervention in settings with high child mortality and/or vitamin A deficiency.
In 2006, the procurement of vaccines and related supplies represented nearly half of UNICEF’s procurement activities, valued at $560 million, with $491 million spent on vaccines and $69 million spent on safe injection supplies and cold chain equipment. UNICEF purchased 2.4 billion doses of polio vaccine and 181 million doses of measles vaccine. UNICEF also buys safe injection materials, safety boxes and cold-chain equipment for immunization programmes it supports. In 2006, UNICEF supplied over 892 million autodisable syringes, along with safety boxes for the disposal of syringes.