World Immunization Week – Significance, Role, Challenges, FAQ
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World Immunization Week: General Knowledge
World Immunization Week is organized in the last week of April every year. It’s a global health program organized by World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with governments and organizations all over the world. The first World Immunization Week was observed by 180 countries and territories simultaneously in 1912 during the annual meeting of the World Health Assembly that governs WHO.
The goal of World Immunization Week is to stress the need for collective action to encourage the use of vaccines to protect people against certain diseases. It provides technical support and guidance to implement credible and high-quality immunization programs.
World Immunization Week Significance
It is especially important for the healthy growth and development of young children as they are still developing antibodies and are susceptible to the growth-inhibiting factors of the environment.
Moreover, many infectious diseases and their prevention are unknown, making it impossible to control them with behavioural methods alone. In these cases, vaccination is the only way to prevent the disease.
International Immunization Week, encourages governments to organize awareness programs and vaccination camps to facilitate a drive for healthy immunization.
World Immunization Week – Major Challenges
The world greatly lacks resources when it comes to providing one and all with vaccination. There are many concerns regarding vaccination and its awareness that need to be dealt with which is exactly where World Immunization Week comes in. Some major concerns related to immunization are:
- Many people are unaware of the disease-preventive powers of vaccination and how public health is an important individual right
- Many young children are not provided with a complete course of immunization in their infant years
- Most teenagers and adults do not keep up to date with their vaccination
Q. When was World Immunization Week launched?
World Immunization Week was introduced during the World Health Assembly of May 2012. 180 countries from around the world celebrated this week with the organization of several World Immunization Week activities.
Q. What are the challenges to World Immunization Week?
Many people and communities are against immunization because of various religious and cultural beliefs. This is a major challenge to the successful implementation of the international immunization program, these are the challenges to World Immunization Week.