{"id":46505,"date":"2025-05-04T06:13:42","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T00:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=46505"},"modified":"2025-05-17T22:52:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T17:22:55","slug":"global-rise-in-vaccine-preventable-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/global-rise-in-vaccine-preventable-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Rise in Vaccine-Preventable Diseases: Urgent Call for Immunisation Investment"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Latest News<\/li>\n<li>Alarming Global Vaccination Crisis<\/li>\n<li>Importance of Vaccination<\/li>\n<li>India\u2019s Progress through Immunisation<\/li>\n<li>Way Forward: Strengthening Global Immunisation Efforts<\/li>\n<li>Vaccine-preventable diseases FAQ\u2019s<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Diseases preventable by vaccines, like measles, meningitis, and yellow fever, are resurging as millions of children miss vaccinations due to funding cuts and disrupted immunisation efforts.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi warn that misinformation, population growth, and humanitarian crises are further threatening progress.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>They urge global leaders to prioritise and strengthen vaccination programmes with urgent and sustained political commitment.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Alarming Global Vaccination Crisis<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A WHO rapid review across 108 low- and lower-middle-income countries revealed that nearly half face moderate to severe disruptions in vaccination campaigns and access to supplies due to reduced donor funding.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Rising Number of Unvaccinated Children<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Routine immunisation coverage is declining.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>In 2023, 14.5 million children missed all routine vaccines \u2014 an increase from 13.9 million in 2022 and 12.9 million in 2019.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Over half of these children live in fragile or conflict-affected regions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Impact on Disease Surveillance<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>More than half of the surveyed countries reported disruptions in disease surveillance, increasing the risk of unchecked outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Resurgence of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Even countries with strong healthcare systems are affected.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The U.S. has reported 935 measles cases as of May 1, 2025 \u2014 more than triple the 2024 count \u2014 despite the disease being declared eliminated there in 2000.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Alarm from Global Health Leaders<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned that funding cuts are threatening global health gains.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>They emphasized the cost-effectiveness and life-saving impact of vaccines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Call for Urgent Investment<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Leaders stressed the importance of sustained political and financial commitment to initiatives like the <strong>\u2018Big Catch-Up\u2019<\/strong>, which aims to vaccinate children who missed routine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Importance of Vaccination<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>High Return on Investment and Life-Saving Impact<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>WHO describes immunisation as a top health investment, yielding a return of $54 for every $1 spent.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Over the past 50 years, vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives \u2014 approximately six lives every minute.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Measles vaccine alone accounts for 60% of these lives saved.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Major Role in Reducing Infant Mortality<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Vaccination has contributed to 40% of the global improvement in infant survival.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>More children today survive past their first birthday than ever before in human history.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Eradication and Control of Deadly Diseases<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Vaccines have eradicated smallpox and nearly eradicated polio.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Annually, they prevent nearly 4.2 million deaths from 14 major diseases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Building Herd Immunity and Protecting Public Health<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Vaccines not only protect individuals but also reduce disease spread by building herd immunity, crucial in preventing outbreaks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>India\u2019s Progress through Immunisation<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>India has achieved major health milestones due to widespread immunisation \u2014 including being declared polio-free in 2014 and eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus in 2015.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>New vaccines like Measles-Rubella, Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) and Rotavirus Vaccine (RVV) have been added to its immunisation programme.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>UIP is one of India\u2019s largest public health efforts, targeting 26 million newborns and 34 million pregnant women annually.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Over 13 million immunisation sessions are conducted nationwide.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Gaps in Coverage Remain<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Despite significant progress, 23.9% of Indian children still miss out on full immunisation, as reported in the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019\u201321).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Way Forward: Strengthening Global Immunisation Efforts<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi urge parents, the public, and political leaders to reinforce their support for immunisation.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>They call for sustained investment in vaccines and adherence to the Immunisation Agenda 2030.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>A key milestone will be Gavi\u2019s pledging summit, to be held in June 2025, which aims to raise at least $9 billion to protect 500 million children and save over eight million lives between 2026 and 2030.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Vaccine-preventable diseases FAQ\u2019s<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> Why are vaccine-preventable diseases resurging globally?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Due to funding cuts, missed vaccinations, misinformation, and weakened immunisation efforts, many children remain unprotected against deadly diseases.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong> How many children missed routine vaccines in 2023?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> In 2023, 14.5 million children globally missed all routine vaccinations, up from 13.9 million in 2022.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3.<\/strong> What role does vaccination play in infant survival?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Vaccination has driven 40% of the global improvement in infant survival, saving millions of lives over decades.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4.<\/strong> How is India addressing immunisation gaps?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> India expanded UIP, introduced new vaccines, but still 23.9% of children missed full immunisation (NFHS-5 data).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5.<\/strong> What is the goal of Gavi\u2019s June 2025 summit?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> To raise $9 billion, protect 500 million children, and save 8 million lives between 2026 and 2030.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/health\/are-vaccine-preventable-diseases-rising-explained\/article69535515.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/24-04-2025-increases-in-vaccine-preventable-disease-outbreaks-threaten-years-of-progress--warn-who--unicef--gavi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WHO<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and meningitis are resurging. WHO urges political commitment to strengthen global immunisation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":46506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-46505","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}