Countries of the WHO European Region must scale up Immunisation programmes to help prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. This was the call made at the meeting of the Interagency Immunisation Coordinating Committee organised by WHO in Slovenia on October 21 2004.
Representatives of UNICEF, the World Bank, the Childrens Vaccine Program, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Commission discussed vaccination in the 52 countries of the WHO European Region as well as the rise in the number of cases of measles.
Joint efforts are needed by international agencies, governments and civil society to keep the numbers of cases of measles, diptheria, rubella, pertussis and other vaccine-preventable diseases under control they concluded.
Dr. Marc Danzon, WHO regional Director for Europe said: Each year, tens of thousands of people in the countries of the Region still suffer from vaccine-preventable, life-threatening and debilitating illnesses. We can save lives by scaling up the intervention that we know is effective: immunisation. Through immunisation, we can make a substantial contribution to achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals."
Immunisation has lead to a large reduction in infectious diseases in the WHO European Region. In 2003, 30,000 cases of measles were reported, according to WHO figures, ten years previously this figure had been 200,000. However, the success of immunisation has resulted in people becoming less aware of the effects of non-vaccination, and large outbreaks of disease have reappeared.
During the last three years outbreaks of measles have been seen in a number of European countries including Turkey (44,176 cases), Italy (29,533), Ukraine (24,968), France (13,645) and Germany (11,460).
Special attention should be paid to vulnerable groups such as underprivileged children, minority groups and migrant populations stressed the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s programme on vaccine-preventable diseases and immunisation.
It is envisaged that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) will play a key role in spreading best practise with regard to vaccination within Europe. The ECDC is due to be operational in May 2005.
