WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing 24 April 2024 – World Health Organization (WHO)

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,

Today marks the start of World Immunization Week a time to celebrate some of the most powerful inventions in history vaccines.

Thanks to vaccines, smallpox has been eradicated, polio is on the brink, and many once-feared diseases can now be easily prevented, including measles, cervical cancer, yellow fever, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

Today, 84% of the worlds children have received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis which is used as a marker of global vaccine coverage.

But only fifty years ago, in 1974, fewer than 5% of infants globally were vaccinated.

That was the year WHO launched the Expanded Programme on Immunization, or EPI.

The Smallpox Eradication Programme had shown that vaccines could eliminate or even eradicate some diseases.

Building on that success, EPI supported countries to establish standardized vaccination programmes against smallpox and six other diseases: diphtheria, measles, pertussis, polio, tetanus and tuberculosis.

In the five decades since then, every country has established immunization programmes with support from WHO and our partners.

Now called the Essential Programme of Immunization, EPI helps millions of children, adolescents and adults access vaccines against 30 diseases.

A new study led by WHO estimates that EPI has saved at least 154 million lives since 1974 an average of more than 8000 a day, and 6 every minute of every year for the past 50 years.

Thanks to immunization, a child born today is 40% more likely to see their fifth birthday than a child born 50 years ago.

And more and more lives are being saved as more and more diseases are becoming vaccine preventable, with newer vaccines against COVID-19, malaria, cholera, dengue, meningitis, RSV, Ebola and mpox, and more in development.

Immunization programmes are also the bedrock of primary health care in some of the most remote locations.

A child brought to a clinic for vaccination often receives other life-saving services, such as nutritional support, illness screenings or bed nets.

Over the past 50 years, EPI has achieved so much, but we cannot take these gains for granted. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine immunization programmes globally, while in many countries, crisis and conflict means millions of people miss out on vaccines.

Around the world, WHO and our partners are supporting countries to respond to outbreaks, catch up on children missed during the pandemic, and provide access to vaccines in even the most difficult contexts.

In the past 50 years, EPI has shown what is possible when partners work together, including those who are joining us today UNICEF, Gavi and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Today, we are launching a joint campaign called Humanly Possible, calling on world leaders to advocate for, support and fund vaccines and the immunization programmes that deliver these lifesaving products.

To say more, Im delighted to welcome Professor Jos Manuel Barroso, the Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and former President of the European Commission.

Jos Manuel, my friend, you have the floor.

[PROF BARROSO ADDRESSED THE MEDIA]

Thank you, Jos Manuel, for your partnership, and for everything Gavi has done to ensure more children benefit from the lifesaving power of vaccines.

One of WHOs founding partners in EPI 50 years ago was Unicef, so Im very pleased to welcome Dr Ephrem Lemango, Unicefs Associate Director for Health and Global Chief of Immunization.

Ephrem, welcome, and you have the floor.

[DR LEMANGO ADDRESSED THE MEDIA]

Thank you Ephrem, and my thanks once again to Unicef for its steadfast partnership over the past 50 years.

Lastly, so much of this would not be possible without the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, so Im honoured to welcome Violaine Mitchell, Director of the Gates Foundations Immunization Team.

Violaine, welcome, and you have the floor.

[MS MITCHELL ADDRESSED THE MEDIA]

Thank you, Violaine, and my thanks to you and your colleagues at the Gates Foundation for everything you do to expand access to vaccines around the world.

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One disease for which there was no vaccine 50 years ago but there is now is meningitis.

Just last month, Nigeria became the first country to roll out the new Men5CV vaccine, which protects against the five major strains of bacterial meningitis in Africa.

The campaign aimed to vaccinate 1 million people across several States in northern Nigeria which had been hit hard by meningitis outbreaks.

I thank the Government of Nigeria and partners including Gavi, Unicef, PATH and the United Kingdom, who have been critical to the development and rollout of this vaccine.

Building on this success, WHO is working with governments and partners on future rollout plans, including in Niger.

For the first time, the Men5CV vaccine gives us real hope of being able to eliminate meningitis as a public health problem.

On Friday, I will join global health leaders in Paris for the first high-level meeting on defeating meningitis.

The Defeating Meningitis by 2030 roadmap requires an initial investment of 130 million US dollars, which is frankly loose change compared to the return that investment will deliver.

As well as preventing over 900,000 deaths and nearly 3 million cases of meningitis by 2030, defeating meningitis would save billions of dollars in health costs and lost productivity.

Vaccination against meningitis, as part of an integrated with primary health care programme, can also help to combat antimicrobial resistance.

With the support of President Emmanuel Macron and the Government of France, and our partners here today, achieving the goals of the roadmap is feasible.

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Another disease for which vaccines have only recently been developed is malaria.

In the past two years, WHO has recommended the worlds first two malaria vaccines, which are now being rolled out in Africa and which could save tens of thousands of young lives every year.

Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Sierra Leone are already delivering malaria vaccines through national immunization programmes, and many more countries are planning to introduce them in the coming weeks and throughout the year.

Alongside other tools including new types of bed nets, vaccines could help to reignite progress against malaria, which has stalled in recent years.

In 2022, malaria claimed the lives of an estimated 608 000 people worldwide and there were 249 million new cases.

Most cases and deaths are among children under 5 in in the poorest households in sub-Saharan Africa.

To truly address malaria, we have to address the inequity that drives it.

Tomorrow marks World Malaria Day. Together with the RBM Partnership and other partners, were drawing attention to the critical importance of health equity, gender equality and human rights in the fight against malaria.

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Finally, vaccines are also playing a role in the response to dengue outbreaks around the world.

So far this year, more than 5.2 million cases of dengue have been reported from the Americas more than the total number of cases reported from that region last year, which was already the worst on record.

With warmer temperatures and the effects of climate change, other countries around the world must be ready to respond to increasing numbers of cases.

Last year, WHO recommended use of a new dengue vaccine for children aged 6 to 16 in areas where dengue is present.

Countries including Brazil are now using the vaccine, although the supply is constrained and the costs are still relatively high.

In February, WHO released 5 million US dollars from our Contingency Fund for Emergencies, to support priority countries to implement essential interventions against dengue. But the needs are immense and more support is needed from donors.

From the worlds oldest vaccine against smallpox, to the newest vaccines against meningitis, malaria and dengue, WHO remains committed to doing everything humanly possible to realise the lifesaving power of vaccines for everyone, everywhere.

Fadla, back to you.

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WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing 24 April 2024 - World Health Organization (WHO)