For every generation, vaccines work and they have saved over 150 million lives: WHO

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Over the past 50 years, vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives, as ordinary people chose to protect themselves, their children and their communities from diseases like measles, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, and rotavirus. 

Over the past 50 years, vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives, as ordinary people chose to protect themselves, their children and their communities from diseases like measles, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, and rotavirus. 

During World Immunization Week, which runs from 24 to 30 April, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners are highlighting the benefits of vaccines at every stage of life, as well as the scientific breakthroughs which have led to tried and tested inoculations against contracting malaria, HPV, cholera, dengue, meningitis, RSV, Ebola and mpox.

This year marks the midpoint of Immunization Agenda 2030, a global push, led by WHO, to ensure that everyone can benefit from life-saving vaccines. A report released to assess the progress made so far found that, despite unprecedented challenges – including the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical instability, climate disruption and limited financing – immunization efforts over the past five years have averted millions of deaths.

However, most of the targets remain off track, with persistent gaps in routine coverage, equity and outbreak prevention across many countries.

The UN health agency is calling for renewed commitments to build more sustainable national programmes, stronger integration with primary healthcare, and more prioritisation on the part of global health agencies and partners. 

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Big results for children

On Friday, the WHO, along with the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) and the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), announced that The Big Catch-Up, an historic international effort to address vaccination declines driven largely by the COVID-19 pandemic, has reached an estimated 18.3 million children aged one to five across 36 countries, since it was launched in 2023.

The campaign also provided 23 million doses of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) to unvaccinated and undervaccinated children, an essential intervention towards polio eradication. The initiative is forecasted to be on track to meet its target of vaccinating at least 21 million children.

Look out for a UN video report from New Jersey where a family reflects on how vaccinations help protect the youngest members of the community, allowing them to grow up safe enough to simply be children. The report will be available on UN News next week.

How do we know a vaccine is safe?

• Before any vaccine is introduced in a country, it undergoes rigorous testing.
• If positive results are achieved in the laboratory, a manufacturer can then apply to conduct clinical trials. These trials typically involve several thousand vaccinated healthy volunteers and are carefully monitored by national regulatory authorities.
• Once vaccines are introduced and used, authorities continuously monitor them to detect and promptly respond to potential concerns. In case of an adverse event, details are collected and an independent group of experts assesses whether such an event is related to vaccines or is due to other causes. 

Find out more about vaccine safety here.