Former South African president Nelson Mandela has called for action by private and public organisations to promote vaccination and save the 8000 children who die every day from diseases that can be prevented by vaccines.
His call follows publication of a World Health Organization report which highlights the growing gap between rich and poor countries in access to vaccination.
The report says that less than a quarter of Nigeria's children were vaccinated in 2000, half the proportion of 10 years ago. Immunisation rates also plummeted in countries experiencing political upheaval and war.
It adds that the barriers to vaccination in developing counties include poor healthcare delivery systems, costs (especially of new vaccines), and research and development skewed towards rich nations. More than 30 million children born each year—one in four—do not receive any vaccination.
Footnotes
The State of the World's Vaccines and Immunization is available at www.who.int/mediacentre/events/report/en