The World Health Organization and UNICEF has called for urgent action in an effort to minimise interruptions to immunisation services that continue to impact children around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. The call to action seeks to protect children from childhood diseases like measles and polio.
UNICEF supports children all over the globe, bringing support to disadvantaged young people in 190 countries and territories. With the WHO and other stakeholders like Rotary International, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Association, UNICEF is part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, enables immunisation services in eligible countries and responds to outbreaks of childhood diseases. Catch-up vaccinations as well as routine immunisations are facilitated by Gavi, but not all countries receive Gavi funding. The call to action will provide services to middle-income countries that are not eligible for support from Gavi.
As leaders around the world seek to limit the spread of COVID-19, new breakouts of other dangerous diseases threaten the health of vulnerable children. UNICEF and the WHO seek global action so that immunisations can be resumed and prioritised, especially in countries that are ineligible for Gavi support.
Because routine immunisations as well as other health services have been severely disrupted by COVID-19, immunity gaps in target age groups in many countries are now a significant worry to both UNICEF and the WHO. The organisations agree that approximately US$655 million in resources are needed to remedy the situation and to prevent a global resurgence of preventable childhood disease.
In 2019, the number of cases of measles grew to the highest count in over twenty years, and
measles cases around the globe are continuing to grow. In Pakistan and Afghanistan and parts of Africa, experts predict the number of polio cases will increase. If polio is not eradicated, the current transmissions could lead to a resurgence of 200,000 cases annually, around the world, within the next decade.
New resources like a new next-generation novel polio vaccine will soon be available, as well as a Measles Outbreak Strategic Response Plan. These tools and strategies, which will be deployed alongside efforts by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and the Measles & Rubella Initiative, hope to save lives with vaccination coverage, outbreak response, and monitoring and evaluation.
