Push to promote value of child immunisation

Immunisation is one of the most effective ways of reducing illness and death in children, yet many children in South Africa and the rest of the African continent do not benefit from this life-saving measure.

Ahead of World Immunisation Week from April 24 to 30, it is estimated that 1.5 million children died globally from vaccine-preventable diseases in 2013. South Africa has one of the most robust immunisation programmes on the continent, offering vaccinations against some of the common diseases responsible for childhood deaths and disability, including polio, measles, tuberculosis, tetanus (an infection characterised by muscle spasms), rotavirus (which causes diarrhoea in children) and pneumococcal disease (responsible for pneumonia, ear infections, meningitis and others).

But despite the range of vaccines available, only about two-thirds of South African children are estimated to receive the full series of immunisations. Although the National Department of Health provides vaccination coverage figures of close to 100 percent, frequent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (especially measles) prove that full coverage is not yet achieved. There is an urgent need for education on immunisation among parents and healthcare workers. Ignorance around the importance and safety of vaccines causes many people to forgo the opportunity to be vaccinated. Professor Charles Wiysonge, deputy director of the Centre for Evidence-based Healthcare at Stellenbosch University's faculty of medicine and health sciences, said vaccines undergo strenuous testing and there is a strong emphasis on safety.

Before any vaccine is made available to the public, it undergoes several safety and efficacy tests. The results are then combined in a systematic review and is scrutinised by a World Health Organisation (WHO) Task Group. According to Wiysonge, who serves on the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation as well as the African Task Force on Immunisation, the low uptake of vaccines is mostly due to healthcare staff and parents' lack of knowledge about immunisation, human resources and financial constraints, and systematic challenges such as poor refrigeration facilities and availability. Research by Wiysonge and colleagues has found numerous promising strategies for improving the country's immunisation programme, including education and support for healthcare staff, reminders and recall systems, and educational drives for parents.

Cape Times, 22 April 2015