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Unicef and the World Health Organization have called for urgent action to prevent millions of preventable childhood deaths from measles and polio by resuming mass vaccinations disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
They say that while there is still no coronavirus vaccine, there are very effective vaccinations against these two deadly diseases and children should not be put at risk. Measles vaccination prevented 23.2 million deaths between 2000 and 2018, and polio was on the verge of eradication before the pandemic. More than 18 million people have walked and would have been paralyzed without vaccination.
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The two United Nations agencies estimate that there is an urgent need of 655 million dollars (500 million pounds) to fill the gaps that are opening in vaccination services for the two diseases.
“We cannot allow the fight against a deadly disease to cause us to lose ground in the fight against other diseases,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Director General. “Fighting the global Covid-19 pandemic is crucial. However, other deadly diseases also threaten the lives of millions of children in some of the poorest areas of the world. “
The two organizations are calling on heads of state and government, donors and partners to take action around the world. “We need additional financial resources to safely resume vaccination campaigns and prioritize immunization systems that are vital to protecting children and warding off other epidemics beyond Covid-19,” Fore said.
“Covid-19 is having a devastating impact on the health system and on vaccination services in particular,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “But unlike Covid, we have the tools and the knowledge to stop diseases like polio and measles. What we need are the resources and commitments to implement these tools and skills. If we do this, the lives of the children will be saved. “
Measles outbreaks had become a problem before Covid, partly due to the caution of families about vaccines in different parts of the world. In parts of Europe and North America, unfounded but sometimes sincere doubts about the safety of the measles vaccine have spread through social media. In other regions there were supply problems and lack of trust in the government.
According to Unicef, the number of new measles infections rose in 2019 to the highest level in more than two decades. The data, due to be released next week, is likely to result in a high death toll in many countries.
Transmission of the poliovirus is expected to increase in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as in many areas of Africa where insufficient children have been vaccinated.
The Covid-19 pandemic has undermined routine vaccination services. “Even if available, people cannot access services due to transport blocks and disruptions or are not ready for fear of receiving SARS-CoV-2. This has led to a drop in vaccinations in many countries, which in some countries dropped to only 50% during the crisis, ”says a report from the two UN agencies.
Polio and measles vaccination campaigns have been halted as steps have been taken to protect health workers and communities from coronavirus infection. “The result of the hiatus is that more than 94 million children have lost their measles vaccination alone,” the report said.
Countries are restarting their vaccinations, but WHO and Unicef say it’s important they make vaccination a budget priority and respond quickly to outbreaks of the disease.
They estimate that it will require an investment of $ 400 million for polio and $ 255 million for measles.
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