It found that 154 million lives have been saved over the past 50 years through global vaccination efforts.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said at his weekly press conference that smallpox has been eliminated thanks to vaccines, and many diseases such as measles and pneumonia that were once feared can now be easily prevented.
Saying that 84 percent of children worldwide had been vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough with three doses, Ghebreyesus recalled that in 1974, when WHO launched the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), less than 5 percent of infants around the world have been vaccinated.
Ghebreyesus said the EPI Expanded Program on Immunization supports countries in establishing standardized vaccination programs against smallpox and other diseases.
“It is estimated that the EPI Expanded Program on Immunization has saved at least 154 million lives since 1974. This means that 8 thousand lives per day and 6 lives per hour have been saved by vaccination in the last 50 years,” he said.
Ghebreyesus explained that thanks to vaccination, the probability of a child born today reaching the age of 5 has increased by 40 percent compared to a child born 50 years ago.
He also called on world leaders to support and fund vaccination programs that deliver vaccines and life-saving products.
