The World Health Organization on Wednesday called on countries in the Southeast Asia region to accelerate action to protect all children with life-saving vaccines being offered under the childhood immunization programme, focusing on those who have missed all or some vaccine doses and protecting all adolescent girls from cervical cancer.
"We should aim for
a 'big catch-up' to vaccinate all zero dose and partially vaccinated children,
and restore immunization progress lost during the pandemic; protect all adolescent
girls from cervical cancer and accelerate efforts to eliminate Measles and
Rubella from WHO South-East Asia by 2026," said Saima Wazed, Regional
Director WHO South-East Asia, in her inaugural address to the 15th Meeting of
the WHO South-East Asia Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group
(SEAR-ITAG) said.
The Regional Director
acknowledged and thanked all experts, national programme managers, immunization
champions, partners including the vaccinators and community workers, and the
communities themselves, on the expanded immunization programme completing 50
years this year.
"We can proudly
say, in the last 50 years, together, immunization programmes have helped
hundreds of millions of people in our Region live healthier, longer, more
productive, and prosperous lives," the Regional Director said.
"Today, the
South-East Asia Region continues to be free of wild poliovirus transmission and
has maintained the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus as a public
health problem. Five countries have eliminated measles and rubella, and six
have controlled hepatitis B through immunization. Seven countries consistently
reach over 90 per cent of children with three doses of diphtheria, pertussis,
and tetanus (DTP3) vaccines," she said.
However, the region missed
the target to eliminate measles and rubella by 2023. The WHO/UNICEF Estimates
of National Immunization Coverage data released last month shows slow progress
and no meaningful change in childhood immunization coverage last year compared
to 2022, and coverage is yet to be restored to the pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
"Nearly 2.7 million
children in our Region did not get any vaccine and another 0.6 million children
were partially vaccinated in 2023. We need to understand where and why these
children were missed and prioritize reaching them as soon as possible. No child
should ever fall sick or die of any vaccine-preventable disease when safe and
effective vaccines exist to protect them," Wazed said.
She further added that
the stagnation in post-pandemic recovery highlights the need to innovate.
"We need to find locally impactful approaches, and most critically,
enhance the political and social leadership that are the basis for intensified
actions needed to meet our Regional targets," she said.
One of the priorities in
the Regional Director's Regional Roadmap for Results and Resilience is
'reaffirming investment in women, girls, adolescents and vulnerable
populations', the WHO statement said.
"Against this, we
must ensure all adolescent girls in our Region are protected and get at least
one dose of HPV vaccine to protect from cervical cancer", Wazed said.
The statement said that
revitalizing immunization programmes, strengthening community-centred health
systems, ensuring vaccine supply, and boosting demand through community
engagement are critical components of success. Policy and resources should
urgently prioritize routine immunization, particularly for measles, and focus
on reducing zero-dose and partially vaccinated children.
"The focus must be
on tailored approaches, identified in consultation with the affected
communities. No matter how challenging or remote the setting is, we will need
to find new ways to reach the children most at risk of life-threatening
diseases and protect them with vaccines," the Regional Director said.
Being held in New Delhi
from 20-23 August, the SEAR-ITAG guides setting regional priorities for
immunization and offers technical support for strengthening routine
immunization services to Member States. Experts, national immunization programme
managers, surveillance focal points and partner agencies review progress on
immunization coverage, surveillance, and programme issues at this annual
meeting, as per the statement.
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