SA backing for global immunisation
10 April 2006
South Africa's Cabinet has approved an annual contribution of US$1-million to the International Financing Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) for the next 20 years.
The IFFIm, an initiative of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, aims to help countries around the world achieve the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals on reducind deaths due to childhood diseases.
A projected IFFIm investment of $4-billion is expected to prevent 5 million child deaths between 2005 and 2015 and more than 5 million future adult deaths.
According to the facility, investing the majority of resources upfront would significantly increase the flow of aid to countries for immunisation programmes in the years up to 2015.
Meanwhile, South Africa has appealed to parents, guardians and caregivers to ensure that children under the age of five are immunised to prevent childhood diseases.
While childhood diseases such as measles and polio have potentially fatal complications, especially in small children, vaccines to prevent these diseases are available free of charge at any public health clinic.
Vaccines are available for prevention of polio, tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, haemophilus influenza type B, hepatitis B and measles.
South Africa is aiming for the target set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) of having 90% of its children fully immunised by the time they turn one year old.
According to the Health Department, South Africa's overall routine immunisation coverage is currently less than 80%, and as low as 60% in some districts.
While polio was last detected in South Africa in 1989, the department says, cases of wild poliovirus exist in other countries and the disease could easily be imported and spread if all children were not fully vaccinated.
Source: BuaNews
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