Philippines reaches immunization milestone, no more than 20 unvaccinated children

The Philippines is no longer among the top five countries with unvaccinated children, according to an October 23 press release of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Philippines.

In 2020 to 2022, the Philippines was ranked fifth in the world among countries with the most zero-dose children.

The 2023 WHO/UNICEF Immunization Coverage Estimates reported that the Philippines has improved significantly and is no longer part of the top 20 countries, having reduced unimmunized children to 163,000 from 1 million.

“This historic event should strengthen our resolve to vaccinate more children, especially those who remain vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio, measles, diphtheria, and pertussis,” UNICEF Philippines representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov said in a press release on October 23.

“UNICEF remains committed to supporting the government and its partners in continuing this progress so that all children in the Philippines can live a healthy life,” he said.

He is at risk of polio, with 24 of the 81 states are still considered high riskThe WHO Polio Risk Assessment for 2022-2023 is presented.

The heavyweight country’s score improved to 36 from 39 previously.

Polio, caused by a virus that affects the nervous system, can lead to paralysis within hours.

The Department of Health’s (DoH) two-year immunization acceleration program is committed to achieving the status of fully immunized children. 90% by 2025.

“Vaccination remains our strongest weapon until pprotect children for the rest of their lives,” said Dr. Rui Paulo de Jesus, WHO representative, in the same press release.

“In collaboration with the DoH and our partners, our goal is a country and a world where no child is paralyzed by polio again, and the infrastructure and programs we have built to fight it continue to benefit global health and ensure that children are protected from it. vaccine-preventable diseases,” he added. – Patricia B. Mirasol