By Matshidiso Moeti
This
week, at the 28th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa,
we watched with pride as Heads of State endorsed the Addis Declaration on
Immunization in support of ensuring that all African children – no matter who
they are or where they live – can access the vaccines they need to survive and
thrive. Vaccines are, without question, among the most effective and
cost-effective public health tools available, saving between two and three million
lives every year.
Vaccines
have led to the eradication of smallpox, a 99.9 per cent reduction in polio
cases worldwide and a dramatic reduction of other diseases like measles,
diphtheria and tetanus. Immunization is also rooted in a commitment to equity
and is among the simplest means to advance it. By ensuring every child, rich or
poor, receives the same life-saving vaccines, countries can ensure that the
next generation starts out on a more equal playing field in terms of their
health. Beyond the individual, the positive ripple effects of immunization are
enormous.
When children are vaccinated, families,
communities and governments can save or reinvest the time and money that would
have been spent caring for sick children. Vaccinated children are more likely
to stay in school and ultimately enrich the economy. It’s no wonder that every
dollar spent on childhood vaccinations yields $44 in economic benefits. This
week’s commitment by African leaders to act on this wealth of evidence couldn’t
have come at a better time. While many countries in Africa have made tremendous
gains in immunization coverage in the last 15 years – contributing to child
mortality being halved – progress has stagnated, leaving one in five of African
children without access to life-saving vaccines.
Concrete actions are needed to achieve the
targets of 90 per cent immunization coverage in every country and 80 per cent
coverage in every district by 2020, as outlined in the Global Vaccine Action
Plan. The stakes have truly never been higher for ensuring that every child in Africa has
access to life-saving vaccines. The largest generation of young people that the
world has ever seen is poised to come of age, and Africa’s youth population is growing faster
than that of any region in the world. In 2015, 226 million youth aged 15-24
lived in Africa. By 2030, that number is projected to
increase by 42 per cent. By 2050, the working age population in sub-Saharan Africa, will more than double.
