Vaccination Week of the Americas 2008 April 20-26

Message from Dr Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health

Guyana joins our sisters and brothers throughout the Americas to observe Vaccination Week of the Americas. This week in April has become an important part of the public health calendar in Guyana and the Americas. As we observe Vaccination Week 2008, we join our colleagues in Brazil and Venezuela to have several joint observances, as part of Guyana’s efforts to play a pivotal role in establishing the goal of every relevant vaccine for every child an achievable goal in the Americas.

Immunization ranks as one of the most important public health initiative in history. Immunization is cost-effective and is what shoppers would call a best-buy. It has saved more lives and prevented more disability than any other public health initiative. The country that neglects immunization is the country that is bound to fail its children and its people. Guyana will not fail our people by neglecting the immunization program. Indeed, our history is that we have consistently strife to strengthen the immunization program, particularly in the last decade.

Guyana has consistently stated its position: we will never allow the need for austerity to affect our commitment to the immunization program and as we observe Vaccination Week 2008, it is another opportunity to reiterate this position. Vaccines save lives and prevent certain forms of disability. It is, therefore, incumbent on us to ensure that every child is vaccinated against any vaccine-preventable disease. Whiles Government has a major responsibility, we each must accept responsibility. I once again appeal to every mother and father, grandparent and all civic leaders and faith-based leaders to make it a civic duty to do whatever is necessary to ensure that no child in our families or communities is without vaccines.

Some would say that the successes in the Americas should permit us to use Vaccination Week as a time for celebration. For me, as long as a child is still without vaccination, we cannot celebrate. We must take pride in the fact that the overwhelming number of our children is vaccinated against killer diseases. But it is equally true that there are a small number of our children who are missed. These children must become our conscience. Find them and vaccinate them. Only when each child is vaccinated do we have the right to celebrate.

As we observe Vaccination Week 2008, Guyana has kept its promise from last year of introducing new vaccines that are now available. We have already introduced the pnemococcus vaccine for some children. We must now consolidate this effort to ensure that access to pneumococcus vaccine becomes universal. We are advanced in preparation for the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine. Similarly, the research and feasibility studies for the introduction of HPV vaccines are being completed. These efforts must be accelerated for the earliest introduction of these vaccines.

I would like to take the opportunity again to highlight the production capacity for vaccines. In the light of a number of yellow-fever outbreaks in the Americas, availability of yellow fever vaccine became a major constraint. There is presently a shortage on the world market for this vaccine. The yellow-fever vaccine situation must remind us that accessibility to vaccines, especially for the global poor, is constraint by the rigidity of regulations and other restrictions surrounding the manufacturing of vaccines. The rules favor manufacturing in developed countries. The rules actively restrict participation of developing countries in the manufacturing and marketing of vaccines.

Guyana will never support easing quality measures for the production of vaccines. But we also believe that some developing countries have built capacity for the quality production of vaccines. Guyana is certain that Brazil Cuba and India have built capacity for the production of vaccines and these countries can add significantly to the global capacity, making accessibility for the poor easier. Whiles these countries have succeeded in claiming a part of the market, the production capacity in these countries could allow a tremendous easing of the present limitation in accessibility of certain vaccines.

Access, availability and coverage for vaccines in our immunization program must not be one of the factors that contribute to the gap between rich and poor countries, between the north and the south and between countries. Vaccines must be seen as a global good. A child born in Africa or Asia or the Caribbean or in South or Central America has the same right to vaccines as a child in North America or Europe. There can be no dispute about this. If every child counts, then I cannot fathom such a dispute.

But Guyana cannot find also find any excuse why a child born in Region 1 should have less of a chance to become vaccinated against diseases than a child born in Georgetown. Such an inequity between children born in the hinterland and the coast does exist. The Government has invested significant sums of money to ameliorate this inequity, but greater efforts are needed to strengthen health systems so that an equitable status is achieved.

The New Global Human Order, a UN mandate, demands no less. Guyana must not fail in our endeavor for every child to be loved and protected. Let us vaccinate every child.

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
April 18, 2008

Message from Dr. Kathleen Israel, PAHO/WHO Rrepresentative-Guyana

Once again, it gives me great pleasure to send a message to commemorate Vaccination Week in the Americas. This is the sixth year that the region of the Americas, including Guyana will be observing Vaccination Week in the Americas from April 19 - 26. While in general, the vaccination coverage in the countries in this hemisphere was good, it was recognized that there were pockets of children with much lower vaccination coverage than the national averages due mainly to the fact that they live in remote hard to reach areas as well as border communities. This reality, coupled with an outbreak of measles in Columbia and Venezuela in 2002, prompted the Ministers of Health of the Andean region to successfully advocate for a period dedicated to focusing on increasing the immunization coverage through intensified efforts.

Consequently, Immunization Week in the Americas was born and today it has the support and participation of every PAHO member country in the region of the Americas and has since been adopted by some European countries as well. The vision of PAHO/WHO is to have a week devoted to increasing awareness and coverage of immunization become a global endeavor. Dr. Margaret Chan, the Director-General of WHO, in her remarks to commemorate the event this year noted, “The objective of Vaccination Week is to promote equity and access to vaccination,” and commended the American and European initiatives, saying they are “helpful to the countries in building their own vaccination programs and reaching out to people in need.”

The success of this initiative in scaling up vaccination coverage and the willingness of countries to collaborate in this effort, prompted the Director of PAHO, Dr. Mirta Roses Periago to say: ‘Vaccination Week in the Americas, is an example and reminder of the best of Pan Americanism – consolidating a true participatory culture for prevention throughout the Americas’. The extraordinary successes realized since the commencement of this initiative, could no doubt be attributed to the fact that disease knows no borders and hence the need for countries to work together to find solutions to minimize communicable disease outbreaks, including the diseases that can be prevented by vaccine. The Pan American Health Organization is pleased to have played a part in the progress made since 2002 when Vaccination Week in the Americas was introduced.
Since its launch six years ago, this initiative has delivered vaccines to more than 195 million people in 45 countries and territories. Despite its growth, the initiative has remained focused on the original goal of reaching the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities, indigenous groups, people living in border areas, and geographically isolated communities, which are often left behind during national immunization campaigns.

This year a record 62 million children, adults and elderly people are expected to receive free vaccines against leading infectious diseases as part of the sixth annual Vaccination Week in the Americas. Tens of thousands of health workers and volunteers are slated to participate in this year’s initiative, which covers 44 countries and territories throughout the Americas. This effort is expected to prevent thousands of deaths and illnesses from diseases such as measles, rubella, polio, tetanus, diphtheria, yellow fever, influenza, rotavirus, hepatitis B, and whooping cough.

The PAHO/WHO Guyana Country Office has been living up to its technical cooperation responsibilities for public health by collaborating with other UN agencies such as UNICEF to support the Ministry of Health in organizing and carrying out national activities during Vaccination Week in the Americas. Such activities include, but are not limited to planning, resource mobilization, social communication campaigns, procurement of vaccines and supplies, and evaluation of activities.

In keeping with the emphasis on reaching border communities, this year Guyana is partnering with neighboring countries – Brazil and Venezuela to launch Vaccination Week in the Americas and to address vaccination deficits in those border locations shared by the three countries. Similar activities will be taking place in other countries that share common borders such as: Nicaragua and Costa Rica; the United States and Mexico; Mexico and Guatemala; Honduras and Nicaragua; and Colombia, Brazil and Peru.

As we observe Vaccination Week of the Americas 2008, I urge and entreat all concerned: national health authorities, parents, teachers, family members, health care providers, community leaders and individuals in general to use the opportunity to gain as much information as possible about the importance of vaccination and to do whatever lies in their power to ensure that all children are fully immunized. Please remember that vaccination is not only “An Act of Love” but it can be a matter of life and death. Let us work together to protect our children and adults where necessary from vaccine preventable diseases.