Mass Immunization Programs

In developed countries, vaccinations and immunizations are a regular part of almost every child's life. Doctor's visits for children include scheduled immunizations against highly-preventable, crippling or deadly diseases. The program is widely accepted and runs like clockwork, with most parents ensuring that their children have all the vaccinations they require to be fully protected. But in other places in the world, children don't get the health care they need and immunization does not occur like a well-oiled machine. The cost of protecting a child in an underdeveloped country against the six deadliest, preventable diseases is less than 20$, however extreme poverty means that, without massive vaccination programs, these immunizations are out of reach to the general population.

Routine, scheduled immunizations against preventable diseases are a part of most every child's life - if you live in a developed country, that is. Parents and children in places such as the US and Canada treat vaccinations as a part of growing up, and the immunization process runs like a well-oiled machine. Vaccinations are part of regular health checkups at children's doctors, and most parents can easily afford the costs of ensuring their children's protection against crippling and deadly diseases. The extreme poverty in third-world countries and other underdeveloped places in the world forces parents and children forego vaccinations and deadly diseases still have a grip in their lives.

Making sure your children are up to date in receiving their vaccinations against crippling and deadly diseases is a routine part of every parent's responsibilities. The process is simple and easy, the vaccinations being provided by the child's doctor in a regular check-up appointment. Immunization in developed countries is common and the general economic level of the population means that having your child vaccinated and protected from deadly diseases such as the measles is really a non-issue. Not so in underdeveloped countries, where preventable diseases such as polio and diphtheria strike again and again. High rates of poverty make it impossible for people in countries like Nigeria and Africa to be immunized against preventable diseases without outside help.

Developed countries have groups, such as the World Health Organization and the Red Cross, that work together to organize huge vaccination campaigns to try and immunize the populations of countries lacking in economy, vaccines, and medical health care. For example, the Measles Initiative has vaccinated 213 million people, and thanks to the massive program, the measles virus in Africa is currently controlled, with the death rate close to zero. What tends to boggle and frustrate volunteers, doctors and medical health professionals involved in vaccination campaigns is that protecting an individual against measles only costs one US dollar, and yet organizations must continually rattle their buckets for donations and cry for help. The disease still kills in other continents, such as Asia, and deaths that could be avoided still occur, thought they could be avoided by a simple vaccine that costs one dollar per individual.

There are groups dedicated to mass immunization programs and the fight against preventable diseases. The World Health Organization and the Red Cross are two agencies who set up huge campaigns to raise funds and provide vaccines to underdeveloped countries. Millions of people have been involved in the immunization campaigns and thanks to their efforts the rate of death due to some diseases is dropping. For example, the Measles Initiative has vaccinated more than 213 million people and by 2010, the death rate from the measles will have dropped 90% compared to 2000 statistics. The cost of providing a full set of vaccinations against the six deadliest, preventable diseases is less than 20$, and the measles vaccine alone costs only one dollar per individual.

Underdeveloped and poor countries must depend on the immunization efforts of groups like the World Health Organization and the Red Cross. These two agencies help to organize massive immunization campaigns for countries such as Nigeria and Africa, where deadly, preventable diseases still pose a threat to individuals. While striving for victory against ravaging diseases such as the measles could have originally been seen as monumental, the immunization campaigns involving millions and millions of people, the disease now has less than a 48% death rate in Africa and projected rates for 2010 claim that measles' death rate will drop to 10%. The effort to eradicate the disease and ensure that every individual in the world cannot be slacked, as preventable diseases such as the measles still have a high death rate elsewhere in the world.

The good news is that the success rate of mass immunization programs has encouraged workers and volunteers to spread their efforts to countries that need help. Global measles death has been reduced by 48% thanks to vaccinations and the goal of health care providers everywhere is to eradicate the disease completely. Were each individual in the world immunized against measles, the disease would have nowhere to strike and would be extinguished completely. While health organizations are not quite at the point of total elimination of preventable diseases yet, projections from groups such as MeaslesInitiative.org claim that by 2010, deaths caused by measles will have been reduced by 90%, compared to statistics of the year 2000.

Individuals in developed countries can support world immunization programs by donating to the effort and ensuring that their own families receive the recommended vaccinations on schedule. The growing tendency of people in developed countries to choose not to vaccinate their children is a dangerous risk that hinders efforts of massive immunization programs - one child unprotected means there will always be a chance of another death caused by a preventable disease.

Many people may be asking themselves how they can support the efforts of health care workers and volunteers involved in massive immunization campaigns. The best way is to ensure that your own children's vaccination schedule is up to date, and to continue to have your children immunized against crippling, preventable diseases. Total eradication of preventable diseases can only occur if the virus had no person to sink its teeth into and every individual on earth is protected from infection.

Eradication of preventable diseases will only occur if every person in the world is protected and is immunized. People who chose not to have their children immunized against crippling and deadly diseases are helping those very same diseases to stay alive and propagate. What's more, by not supporting the worldwide efforts of global immunization, people are insulting the strenuous and difficult efforts of health care workers frantically scrambling to reduce unnecessary deaths in other countries. Only by ensuring that every person in the world is protected against preventable diseases can we ensure the eradication of the virus and the future safety against infection.