New global campaign boosts lifesaving vaccines

The Humanly Possible joint global communication campaign aims to boost vaccination programmes around the world, with support from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “Thanks to vaccinations, more children now survive and thrive past their fifth birthday than at any other point in history,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. Indeed, global immunisation programmes have shown what is humanly possible when many stakeholders, including world leaders, regional and global health agencies, scientists, charities, aid agencies, businesses and communities work together. WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “vaccines are among the most powerful inventions in history”, making once-feared diseases preventable. “Thanks to vaccines, smallpox has been eradicated, polio is on the brink and with the more recent development of vaccines against diseases like malaria and cervical cancer, we are pushing back the frontiers of disease,” he said. “With continued research, investment and collaboration, we can save millions more lives...