Peter de vries unicef stands

Harare, 26 September 2016 – The World Health Organization has called for renewed efforts to reach every child in the African Region with vaccines and other health services.

The call came at a meeting held in Harare, Zimbabwe for immunization officers from the East and Southern African sub-Region (ESA).

Speaking at the event, Dr Felicitas Zawaira, Director of Family and Reproductive Health of the WHO Regional Office for Africa, said: “Immunization is one of the key interventions that contribute to averting a large proportion of preventable deaths and we need to prioritize the attainment of universal immunization coverage by 2020 in East and Southern Africa.”

She noted that according to the 2015 UN report, the WHO Africa Region continued to report the highest number of under-five deaths rates.

Of grave concern to the region is the large number of unvaccinated children – who make up a large portion of the one-in-five children not accessing the required vaccines.

Dr Zawaira