KABUL (Pajhwok): With the start of World Immunization Week, the World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized the vital role of vaccines in preventing diseases and protecting human lives, and has urged families to pay serious attention to vaccinating their children.
World Immunization Week, observed in the last week of April, aims to promote the life-saving power of immunization and protect people of all ages against vaccine-preventable diseases.
Vaccines have long been one of the most powerful tools in public health. Over the past 50 years, they have saved more than 150 million lives—not by accident, but because ordinary people chose to protect themselves, their children, and one another. That equals about six lives saved every minute, every day, for five decades.
According to the organization, this achievement reflects the decisions of individuals and families who chose protection against diseases such as measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, polio, and rotavirus.
It added that new vaccines against malaria, human papillomavirus (HPV), cholera, dengue, meningitis, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Ebola, and mpox are currently saving lives, while scientific advances continue to help people live longer and healthier lives.
The statement said: “During World Immunization Week, let us show the world that some family traditions are worth passing on to future generations. Under the slogan ‘Vaccines are effective for every generation,’ this week demonstrates how vaccines have protected people, families, and communities across generations.”
The WHO has called on countries to strengthen immunization programmes and ensure universal access to essential vaccines as a priority, in order to protect the health of current and future generations.
sa
