Ucan: The Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI) organized a workshop to sensitize
civil society on immunization and its effect in the country. “It is an opportunity
to underscore the importance of immunization in saving lives and to encourage families
to vaccinate their children against deadly diseases,” Sr Cletus Daisy, former President
of CHAI, told ucanindia. Due to gaps in vaccination coverage, diseases like diphtheria,
measles and Polio are making a comeback, she said. The program was organized in
collaboration with CRS and Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) in
New Delhi on the occasion of World Immunization Week from April 21-28. This special
week (World Immunization Week) aims to promote one of the world’s most powerful tools
for health – the use of vaccines to protect, or “immunize”, people of all ages against
disease. Immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective health interventions
and prevents between 2 and 3 million deaths every year. From infants to senior citizens,
immunization protects against diseases such as diphtheria, measles, pertussis (whooping
cough), pneumonia, polio, rotavirus diarrhoea, rubella and tetanus. The benefits of
immunization are increasingly being extended to adolescents and adults, providing
protection against life-threatening diseases such as influenza, meningitis, and cancers
(cervical and liver cancers). However, even now, an estimated 22 million infants
are not fully immunized with routine vaccines, and more than 1.5 million children
under the age of 5 die from diseases that could be prevented by existing vaccines. Sunder
Bunga, Strategic planning and Manager in CHAI, said the objectives of this workshop
are to reiterate the importance of immunization and provide the latest updates on
immunization in India.