Before the middle of last century diseases like whooping cough, diphtheria, polio, tetanus, tuberculosis, polio, measles, and rubella struck hundreds of thousands of Australians each year.
Thousands died or were left with permanent disabilities. Babies and young children were the most vulnerable. As vaccines were developed and vaccination campaigns covered the entire country, rates of these diseases declined and today most are close to complete eradication. In fact, thanks to vaccines, most Australian doctors, nurses and parents of young children, have never seen a case of these diseases outside of text books.
Some health workers and parents have not been so lucky. Whether they have survived deadly diseases themselves, or simply advocate for better vaccination coverage, they want to make sure that no child goes through what those before them have suffered.
Ending polio with Richard, Kinshasa, DR Congo
Richard Elaka, 60, is a polio survivor in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s sprawling capital. He was infected at the age of seven and has been moving around on crutches ever since.
For more than 20 years, Richard has been a community outreach worker informing parents in the commune of Makala in Kinshasa about the importance of vaccination and the risks of non-vaccination. "I realised that many families don't get their children vaccinated because of a lack of knowledge," he explains.
Poliomyelitis, known commonly as polio, is a deadly viral infection spread not only through coughing and sneezing but also though contact with an infected person’s faeces.
Whilst the majority of those infected with poliovirus will have only very minor flu like symptoms, in its most severe form, polio can affect the spinal cord, causing paralysis and even death.
"Vaccination is a gesture of love that protects the children."
At his own pace, supported by his two crutches, Richard walks the uneven streets of his community to share his story with the mothers of the commune of Makala.
"In the morning I wake up, I take my awareness materials and go meet families with 0-59 month old children,” Richard says.
“When I arrive in a family, I make the parents understand that vaccination is a gesture of love that protects the children. When they vaccinate their children, they are protecting them.”
“For parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated, I explain to them that I am myself a victim of polio. Look at me. If you don't want your children to be vaccinated, you see the consequences."
"When a child has polio, he will be disabled for the rest of their life. Your children need to be immunised."
UNICEF is working day and night to continue this life-saving work, educating communities and delivering vaccines to even the hardest to reach places.
But we cannot let children’s health go backwards.
Lockdowns and overwhelmed health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted child vaccination programs around the world. New data shows that 60 life-saving vaccination campaigns are currently postponed in 50 countries.
That’s putting millions of children at risk of deadly diseases like, measles, polio and yellow fever. With help from people like you, we already vaccinate half the world’s children every year.
Help us continue this life-saving vaccine work
Vaccinate Children. Save Lives.
25 million children missed out on vaccines through routine immunisation in 2021. This is 6 million more than in 2019.
Tackling Tetanus with Dr Maryana, Voznytsya, Ukraine
Maryana Voznytsya is the head doctor at the Ukrainian Specialised Children’s Hospital in Lviv. Although the hospital does not provide primary healthcare services such as immunisation, her team deals with the consequences of unvaccinated children.
In recent years, the hospital has faced six tetanus cases, with many doctors facing the disease for the first time in their professional careers.
Tetanus is a devastating disease that causes muscle spasms and seizures as well as lockjaw and breathing problems. If not treated, it can lead to death. Approximately one in 10 people infected with the bacteria will die from it. Babies and children are the most at risk.
“The consequences result from the poor communication between doctors and patients,” says Maryana. “To increase the immunisation level, it is vital to work with healthcare practitioners.
"Everyone should know that doctors and patients are on the same side in the fight against diseases.”
UNICEF and its partners are supporting governments, like that of the Ukraine, to reach millions of children in countries around the globe with life-saving immunisation as well as information to fight fake news.
However, stronger commitment and actions to vaccinate more children and protect them from preventable diseases is critical.
Donate now to help vaccinate children around the world
Vaccinate Children. Save Lives.
25 million children missed out on vaccines through routine immunisation in 2021. This is 6 million more than in 2019.
Preventing measles with Daniel and Meselech, Ethiopia
In search of a better life, Daniel and his wife Meselech came to Addis Ababa from the southern part of their country, Ethiopia, hoping to make a living as weavers.
As they strived to make ends meet and provide for their baby girl, the COVID-19 pandemic limited their opportunities to find buyers and generate income. Adding to the burden, their daughter, Mekdes, fell ill.
Quickly, health workers in Addis Ababa were made aware that there was an illness spreading in the area where Daniel lives, and that it was killing children.
Health authorities set up a team to come and investigate in the neighbourhood. Through the information they gathered from the parents who had lost their children, the team confirmed that the disease was measles. The community had no idea.
"The disease increasingly made my daughter suffer."
Whilst in many countries parents have virtually forgotten about measles due to excellent vaccination coverage, measles is an incredibly infectious virus that is spread through coughing and sneezing.
The disease is so infectious that an unvaccinated person can fall ill with the virus after simply entering a room previously visited by someone with the disease. Beyond its distinctive red rash, measles can cause pneumonia (severe lung infection) and encephalitis (swelling of the brain) which can kill.
"The disease increasingly made my daughter suffer," says Daniel. "I stopped working altogether because I couldn’t focus. I lost my appetite and kept worrying. I didn’t know where to go or what to do."
During her home-to-home visits to the affected families, Mekdes, a local health worker with the same name as Daniel’s much loved daughter, was able to do an initial examination and refer her to a local community centre for further treatment.
After 10 long days of treatment, Daniel got his happy and healthy baby girl back.
“I have greatly benefited from my decision to take my daughter to a health facility. If I hadn’t taken her there, she could have died. I’m very happy with what happened in the end,” shares Daniel as he plays with his healthy baby.
Devastatingly, Daniel’s brother-in-law, Mengistu lost his one-year-old daughter to the measles outbreak. By the time he got her to the hospital, it was far too late.
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We’ll always find a way
We will always find a way to protect children like baby Mekdes. No matter where they are, UNICEF’s teams will cross rivers and climb mountains to make sure every child is given their life-saving vaccines. But we need your help to do it.
Together, we can make sure make sure COVID-19 doesn’t send children’s health backwards.
Vaccinate Children. Save Lives.
25 million children missed out on vaccines through routine immunisation in 2021. This is 6 million more than in 2019.
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