Better supply systems key to enable vaccines to reach children –WHO/UNICEF

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) say better supply systems are key to enable life-saving vaccines to reach all children. A special immunisation issue published by Vaccine, a WHO/UNICEF publication, made available to the Ghana News Agency yesterday, said better supply and logistics systems were essential to reach the estimated 22 million children in developing countries who were still not protected from dangerous diseases with basic vaccines. Articles in the special supplement of the publication also underlined the need to improve understanding about the health benefits of immunisation. World Immunisation Week starts on 20 April with the theme: “Protect your World, Get Vaccinated” with a range of activities in some 180 countries to help immunise more children against preventable diseases. The publication said many countries encountered serious challenges in vaccine supply and logistics, from the inability to keep vaccines at the correct temperature to record keeping, which...