This week marks the world’s first global summit dedicated to ensuring that children everywhere have access to the full benefits of vaccines. The summit builds on a commitment made last year by nearly 200 countries to eradicate polio, develop new and improved vaccines at affordable prices, and immunize every child by 2020.
CAPE TOWN – A world in which our children and their children grow up free from the threat of polio and other preventable diseases is a dream that everyone shares. But, unlike most dreams, this one is achievable. Over my lifetime, I have been fortunate to witness the extraordinary impact that vaccines have had on protecting children from illness and death – especially in the developing world.
Vaccines have always had a special meaning for me. As a young child in South Africa, I nearly died from polio. Back then – in the early 1930’s – there was no vaccine for this highly infectious disease. With good reason, parents everywhere were terrified that poliovirus would reach their doorstep – like a plague – striking a child and causing irreversible paralysis in a matter of hours, or, worse, death in a matter of days.
The doctors told my parents that little could be done for me, so my father prepared for my funeral. Fortunately, I recovered, except for the use of my right hand. I have gone on to live a wonderful life, but the paralysis in my hand is a daily reminder of why we must urgently pursue the eradication of polio and ensure that all children have access to the vaccines that they need.
Just a quarter-century ago, polio was endemic in 125 countries – and paralyzed more than 1,000 children every day. Today, we have the fewest cases of polio, in fewer countries, than ever before. Last year, India – once thought to be the most difficult place to stop polio – was declared polio-free. In the remaining three countries where polio has not yet been eliminated – Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria – there were just 223 reported cases in 2012. This makes me optimistic that I will live to celebrate the day when this dreaded disease is stamped out forever.
The remarkable progress that we have made so far is the result of a sustained global effort, supported by significant resources committed by donor and affected countries, millions of dedicated health workers, and sustained political will to get the job done. But we must finish what we have started. Until the polio virus is eradicated everywhere, no country is safe from reinfection.
At the same time, we must make the most of scientific advances over the last half-century, which have made vaccines for other preventable diseases the most powerful and cost-effective health-care investment that currently exists. Vaccines are inexpensive and easy to deliver, and they protect children for a lifetime. Vaccines have already eradicated smallpox, and dramatically reduced child deaths and disease associated with measles, diphtheria, and tetanus.
At a time of escalating global turmoil, there is an urgent need for incisive, informed analysis of the issues and questions driving the news – just what PS has always provided.
Subscribe to Digital or Digital Plus now to secure your discount.
Subscribe Now
Yet, sadly, a child still dies every 20 seconds from diseases like pneumonia, which can be prevented by a vaccine. Most of them live in poor and remote communities that still lack access to the basic vaccines that are universally available in better-off countries. This is one of the reasons why a child born in a high-income country is 18 times less likely than a child born in a low-income country to die before reaching the age of five.
Fortunately, the world is taking action. This week in Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi – in partnership with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Bill Gates – is hosting the world’s first global summit dedicated to ensuring that all children everywhere have access to the full benefits of vaccines.
The vaccine summit builds on a commitment last year by nearly 200 countries to eradicate polio, develop new and improved vaccines at affordable prices, and deliver them to every child by 2020.
Ending polio will be a key milestone on the path to realizing this vision. And the summit in Abu Dhabi has provided a clear plan to get there by 2018 – a strategy that complements other efforts to raise immunization coverage for diseases such as measles, pneumonia, and rotavirus. Strengthening routine immunization will protect our gains against polio and enable us to reach the most vulnerable children in the hardest-to-reach and most underserved communities.
Having grown up in a country where nearly one in four children infected with polio died from the disease, my heart soars when I imagine a world in which all families have access to lifesaving vaccines, freeing them from the burden of preventable death and disease. Now we need funds, commitment, and the resolve to implement the plan presented in Abu Dhabi.
When it comes to the health of our children, there must be no distance between rich and poor, and no distinctions among communities. Following through on polio eradication by extending the reach of vaccines to all children who need them is an opportunity for all of us to stand together on behalf of our global community. We must do it. And when we succeed, it will be a triumph for humanity.
To have unlimited access to our content including in-depth commentaries, book reviews, exclusive interviews, PS OnPoint and PS The Big Picture, please subscribe
With German voters clearly demanding comprehensive change, the far right has been capitalizing on the public's discontent and benefiting from broader global political trends. If the country's democratic parties cannot deliver, they may soon find that they are no longer the mainstream.
explains why the outcome may decide whether the political “firewall” against the far right can hold.
The Russian and (now) American vision of "peace" in Ukraine would be no peace at all. The immediate task for Europe is not only to navigate Donald’s Trump unilateral pursuit of a settlement, but also to ensure that any deal does not increase the likelihood of an even wider war.
sees a Korea-style armistice with security guarantees as the only viable option in Ukraine.
Rather than engage in lengthy discussions to pry concessions from Russia, US President Donald Trump seems committed to giving the Kremlin whatever it wants to end the Ukraine war. But rewarding the aggressor and punishing the victim would amount to setting the stage for the next war.
warns that by punishing the victim, the US is setting up Europe for another war.
Within his first month back in the White House, Donald Trump has upended US foreign policy and launched an all-out assault on the country’s constitutional order. With US institutions bowing or buckling as the administration takes executive power to unprecedented extremes, the establishment of an authoritarian regime cannot be ruled out.
The rapid advance of AI might create the illusion that we have created a form of algorithmic intelligence capable of understanding us as deeply as we understand one another. But these systems will always lack the essential qualities of human intelligence.
explains why even cutting-edge innovations are not immune to the world’s inherent unpredictability.
CAPE TOWN – A world in which our children and their children grow up free from the threat of polio and other preventable diseases is a dream that everyone shares. But, unlike most dreams, this one is achievable. Over my lifetime, I have been fortunate to witness the extraordinary impact that vaccines have had on protecting children from illness and death – especially in the developing world.
Vaccines have always had a special meaning for me. As a young child in South Africa, I nearly died from polio. Back then – in the early 1930’s – there was no vaccine for this highly infectious disease. With good reason, parents everywhere were terrified that poliovirus would reach their doorstep – like a plague – striking a child and causing irreversible paralysis in a matter of hours, or, worse, death in a matter of days.
The doctors told my parents that little could be done for me, so my father prepared for my funeral. Fortunately, I recovered, except for the use of my right hand. I have gone on to live a wonderful life, but the paralysis in my hand is a daily reminder of why we must urgently pursue the eradication of polio and ensure that all children have access to the vaccines that they need.
Just a quarter-century ago, polio was endemic in 125 countries – and paralyzed more than 1,000 children every day. Today, we have the fewest cases of polio, in fewer countries, than ever before. Last year, India – once thought to be the most difficult place to stop polio – was declared polio-free. In the remaining three countries where polio has not yet been eliminated – Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria – there were just 223 reported cases in 2012. This makes me optimistic that I will live to celebrate the day when this dreaded disease is stamped out forever.
The remarkable progress that we have made so far is the result of a sustained global effort, supported by significant resources committed by donor and affected countries, millions of dedicated health workers, and sustained political will to get the job done. But we must finish what we have started. Until the polio virus is eradicated everywhere, no country is safe from reinfection.
At the same time, we must make the most of scientific advances over the last half-century, which have made vaccines for other preventable diseases the most powerful and cost-effective health-care investment that currently exists. Vaccines are inexpensive and easy to deliver, and they protect children for a lifetime. Vaccines have already eradicated smallpox, and dramatically reduced child deaths and disease associated with measles, diphtheria, and tetanus.
Winter Sale: Save 40% on a new PS subscription
At a time of escalating global turmoil, there is an urgent need for incisive, informed analysis of the issues and questions driving the news – just what PS has always provided.
Subscribe to Digital or Digital Plus now to secure your discount.
Subscribe Now
Yet, sadly, a child still dies every 20 seconds from diseases like pneumonia, which can be prevented by a vaccine. Most of them live in poor and remote communities that still lack access to the basic vaccines that are universally available in better-off countries. This is one of the reasons why a child born in a high-income country is 18 times less likely than a child born in a low-income country to die before reaching the age of five.
Fortunately, the world is taking action. This week in Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi – in partnership with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Bill Gates – is hosting the world’s first global summit dedicated to ensuring that all children everywhere have access to the full benefits of vaccines.
The vaccine summit builds on a commitment last year by nearly 200 countries to eradicate polio, develop new and improved vaccines at affordable prices, and deliver them to every child by 2020.
Ending polio will be a key milestone on the path to realizing this vision. And the summit in Abu Dhabi has provided a clear plan to get there by 2018 – a strategy that complements other efforts to raise immunization coverage for diseases such as measles, pneumonia, and rotavirus. Strengthening routine immunization will protect our gains against polio and enable us to reach the most vulnerable children in the hardest-to-reach and most underserved communities.
Having grown up in a country where nearly one in four children infected with polio died from the disease, my heart soars when I imagine a world in which all families have access to lifesaving vaccines, freeing them from the burden of preventable death and disease. Now we need funds, commitment, and the resolve to implement the plan presented in Abu Dhabi.
When it comes to the health of our children, there must be no distance between rich and poor, and no distinctions among communities. Following through on polio eradication by extending the reach of vaccines to all children who need them is an opportunity for all of us to stand together on behalf of our global community. We must do it. And when we succeed, it will be a triumph for humanity.
Read more from our "Visionary Voices" series