SIXTY-FIFTH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY Agenda item 13.12
WHA65.18 26 May 2012
World Immunization Week The Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly, Having considered the report on the draft global vaccine action plan;1 Recalling resolutions WHA58.15 and WHA61.15 on the global immunization strategy, and the commitment to use the decade 2011–2020 to achieve immunization goals and milestones in vaccine research and development; Recognizing the importance of immunization as one of the most cost-effective interventions in public health; Acknowledging the significant achievements of the Expanded Programme on Immunization at the global level, including the eradication of smallpox, major advances towards eradicating poliomyelitis, eliminating measles and rubella, and the control of other vaccine-preventable diseases, such as diphtheria and tetanus; Noting the contribution of successful immunization programmes towards significant reductions in childhood mortality and improvements in maternal health, and thereby towards the attainment of Millennium Development Goals 4 (Reduce child mortality) and 5 (Improve maternal health), and towards cancer prevention; Recognizing that initiatives such as regional vaccination weeks have contributed towards promoting immunization, advancing equity in the use of vaccines and universal access to vaccination services, and enabling cooperation on cross-border immunization activities; Recognizing also that the initiative of vaccination weeks, a growing global movement that was first introduced in the Region of the Americas in 2003, was observed simultaneously in WHO’s six regions in April 2012, with the participation of more than 180 Member States, territories and areas; Acknowledging also the high level of political support and international visibility given so far to regional vaccination week initiatives, and noting that the flexibility of the vaccination week framework allows individual Member States and regions to tailor their participation in accordance with national and regional public health priorities; Concerned that, despite all the achievements of immunization initiatives, many challenges remain, including maintaining immunization as a fundamental element of primary health care, administering vaccines to all vulnerable populations regardless of their location, protecting national immunization
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Document A65/22.
WHA65.18
programmes against the growing threat of misinformation on vaccines and immunization, and ensuring that national programmes are considered a financial priority for Member States, 1. REQUESTS Member States to designate the last week of April, when appropriate, as World Immunization Week; 2. REQUESTS the Director-General: (1) to support the annual implementation of World Immunization Week as the overarching framework for all regional initiatives that are dedicated to promoting the importance of vaccination across the life-course and working to ensure the universal access of individuals of all ages and in all countries to this essential preventive health service; (2) to provide support to Member States in mobilizing the resources necessary to sustain World Immunization Week, and to encourage civil society organizations and other stakeholders to support the initiative.
Tenth plenary meeting, 26 May 2012 A65/VR/10
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