A study to be published by The Lancet reveals that global immunization efforts have saved around 154 million lives – or the equivalent of 6 lives every minute of every year – over the past 50 years. The vast majority of lives saved – 101 million – were those of newborns. The study, conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and released on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), which will take place in May 2024, represents the most complete analysis of the global and regional health impact of the program over the last fifty years. And – we communicate WHO, Gavi, Unicef and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in launching the “Humanly Possible” campaign to expand vaccination programs around the world during World Immunization Week 2024 – shows that “vaccination is the greatest contribution of any health intervention to ensure that children not only reach their first birthday, but continue to lead healthy lives into adulthood.”
Of the vaccines included in the study, measles prophylaxis had the most significant impact on reducing infant mortality, accounting for 60% of lives saved through immunization. This vaccine will likely remain the major contributor to preventing deaths in the future. Over the past 50 years, vaccination against 14 diseases (diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, measles, meningitis A, whooping cough, invasive pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis and yellow fever) has directly contributed to reducing child mortality by 40% globally and by more than 50% in the African region.
«Vaccines are among the most powerful inventions in history, as they make once feared diseases preventable – declares WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus -. Thanks to vaccines, smallpox has been eradicated, polio is on the brink, and with recent development of vaccines against diseases such as malaria and cervical cancer, we are expanding the frontiers of disease. With continued research, investment and collaboration, we can save millions more lives today and over the next 50 years.”
The study found that for every life saved through immunization, an average of 66 years of full health were gained – for a total of 10.2 billion years of full health gained over the course of fifty years. Thanks to polio vaccination, more than 20 million people who would otherwise have been paralyzed are now able to walk, and the world is on the verge of eradicating polio, once and for all.
These advances in child survival highlight the importance of protecting immunization progress in every country around the world and accelerating efforts to reach the 67 million children who did not receive one or more vaccines during the pandemic years.
