How childhood immunisation protects lives

A child being immunized against polio, July 19, 2021. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

It has been 50 years since the World Health Organisation launched the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), which has increased equitable vaccination coverage for children worldwide.

It has been one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions in history. This is evidenced by the eradication of smallpox, near eradication of poliomyelitis and marked control of measles. WHO and governments would have been remiss in overlooking the importance of vaccines in improving public health outcomes.