Immunizations

Immunizations:




As a mother and a teacher this topic is very important to me. I have always been aware since I was little
of the importance of children being vaccinated. When my mom was pregnant with my older brother, she was exposed to German measles. Soon after my brother was born, he died due to a heart defect.  I remember my Dad telling me the story. At the age of 7, I knew how important it was to be immunized, it was very real to me.
As a young child too I remember standing inline at my elementary school, waiting to be immunized against measles. I was terrified, I hated the thought of getting a shot in front of my peers. But as I stood there thinking.... this shot could save my life.


Ever since then I have always be intrigued and amazed that we are being vaccinated with the same virus/ antigens which cause the diseases. Once injected those antigens produce the antibodies to fight off the disease. Organizations like Unicef and the World Health Organization are trying hard to reach the poorest of countries to have all people immunized. These organizations are creating systems that train people, so once trained they can administer the vaccinations. I chose to look at the statistics of people immunized in the country of Uganda. In 2010, Uganda's statistics of individuals being immunized looks like this. (Task force for World Health).


The vaccines          % of Uganda people        % of Americans
BCG                           84%                                      99%
DTP1                         83%                                      95%
DTP3                         60%                                      95%
HepB3                       60%                                      93%
MCV (measles)          55%                                      92%




In Uganda 35% of the people live below poverty. It is one of the poorest countries in the world.


In response to the challenges in global immunization the World Health Organization and Unicef developed the Global Immunization Vision and Strategy (GIVS). Launched in 2006, GIVS is the first ever ten year Framework aimed at controlling mortality and morbidity from vaccine-preventable diseases and helping countries to immunize more people from infants to seniors with a greater range of vaccines. 
(World Health Organization Global Immunization Vision and Strategy)


The importance of immunizations will always be within my reach as long as I work with young children and families. I know that we as educators need to never let this topic out of our sights. It is essential that the children of the world, continue to be given every opportunity to live a healthy life. And one of the keys components of world's health is making sure that all people are immunized against diseases.




A Side Note:  The reason I chose Uganda is primarily based on the fact that my children brought to my attention aa U-tube video. It is called KONY 2012. It is a 27 minute film about a campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony (He is a warlord in Uganda. He is number one on the world's most wanted list). The film and campaign is by Invisible Children. This video aims to make Joseph Kony Famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest. If you have a chance the video is amazing, and well worth watching. 


Resources
World Health Organization:
http://ww.who.int/en


Task Force for World Health
http://www.taskforce.org/our-work/projects/uganda-immunization-training-program


Millie