24 - 30 April
Global/African Vaccination Week is celebrated in the last week of April and aims to promote one of the world’s most powerful tools for health – the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease.
Immunisation is widely recognized as one of the most successful and cost-effective health interventions ever introduced. It prevents between 2 and 3 million deaths every year and now protects children not only against diseases for which vaccines have been available for many years, such as diphtheria, tetanus, polio and measles, but also against diseases such as pneumonia and rotavirus diarrhoea, two of the biggest killers of children under 5.
Furthermore, adolescents and adults can now be protected against life-threatening diseases such as influenza, meningitis, and cancers (cervical and liver cancers), thanks to new and sophisticated vaccines.
In South Africa, the Department of Health provides free vaccinations to all infants and children up to the age of 12 years at clinics throughout the country.
Source: World Health Organization
