Vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives around the world since 1974, the equivalent of six lives per minute, according to a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) released today. In a statement, the WHO highlights that the estimate made in the study focuses on vaccination against 14 diseases, including diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, tetanus, yellow fever, rubella, tuberculosis, meningitis A and whooping cough. According to the study, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, vaccination saved 101 million babies out of an estimated 154 million lives. The study highlights that immunization against the 14 diseases analyzed directly contributed to reducing 40 percent of global infant mortality and 52 percent in Africa. Measles vaccination alone reduced child mortality by 60 percent on a global scale. The WHO also highlights that more than 20 million people can now walk thanks to immunization against polio. History, preventing previously feared diseases”, highlighted the director-general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, cited in a statement. The data were published at a time of regression in vaccination, caused in particular by the reduction in immunization programs due to the covid pandemic- 19. The WHO points out that 67 million children did not receive all the vaccines they needed between 2020 and 2022, which contributed to an 84 percent increase in global measles cases between 2022 and 2023. The study was released during World Vaccination Week 2024, which started today and ends on Tuesday. (RM-NM)Source:Rádio Moçambique Online
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