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In the midst of growing epidemics of vaccine-preventable diseases, the UNICEF campaign will use social media to show that most parents trust vaccines to protect their children
NEW YORK, April 18, 2019 – On April 24, UNICEF launched a new global campaign to focus on the power and safety of vaccines among parents and social media users in the broad sense .
The campaign will run from April 24 to 30 as part of Global Immunization Week to spread the message that all communities, including parents, can protect everyone through vaccines.
#VaccinesWork has long been used to bring together advocates for online immunization. This year, UNICEF is partnering with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization (WHO), and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to encourage greater reach. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $ 1 to UNICEF for every similar publication or publication on social media, using the #VaccinesWork hashtag in April, up to $ 1 million, to ensure everyone children the vaccines necessary for their survival.
Vaccines save up to 3 million lives a year, protecting children from life-threatening infectious diseases such as measles, pneumonia, cholera and diphtheria. With vaccines, fewer people died of measles between 2000 and 2017 and polio is about to be eradicated. Vaccines are one of the most cost-effective health tools ever invented: every dollar spent on childhood immunization yields up to $ 44 in profits.
"We want the #VaccinesWork virus to become viral," said Robin Nandy, UNICEF's immunization officer. "Vaccines are safe and save lives, and this campaign is an opportunity to show the world that social media can be a powerful force for change and provide parents with reliable information about vaccines."
The campaign is part of a global celebration of a week-long Protecting Together: Work on Vaccines, to honor the heroes of vaccination – parents and children. members of the community to health care workers and innovators.
"Today, we are reaching more children than ever before with vaccines," said Violaine Mitchell, Acting Director of Vaccine Distribution at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "We are delighted to work with UNICEF and all global and national partners around the world, who work tirelessly to ensure that all children, especially those in the world's poorest countries, can be protected against life-threatening infectious diseases. "
Despite the benefits of vaccines, about 1.5 million children died of vaccine-preventable diseases in 2017. Although this is often due to a lack of access to vaccines, in some countries, families delay or refuse to vaccinate their children because of their overconfidence or skepticism. on vaccines. This has resulted in several epidemics, including an alarming outbreak of measles, particularly in high-income countries. Uncertainty about vaccines on digital and social media platforms is one of the factors behind this trend.
That's why the centerpiece of this UNICEF campaign is a 60-second animated film called "Dangers", which, with illustrated animations for social media posts and posters, is based on the idea that children, by their very nature, are few daredevils who constantly put themselves in danger. Available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi, Russian, Spanish and Tagalog, the video explains that even though parents can not prevent all the dangers their children are exposed to, they can use vaccination to help prevent the dangers that threaten their children.
In addition, UNICEF experts will answer questions about immunization, including how vaccines work, how they are tested, why children should be vaccinated, and the risks of not vaccinating. children as soon as possible.
Additional quotes from supporters of the campaign:
Angélique Kidjo, UNICEF Goodwill Ambbadador and Grammy Award-winning singer: "Today, nine out of ten children are immunized, but we can not leave anyone behind. vaccines that save lives. "
Amitabh Bachchan, UNICEF Goodwill Ambbadador and long-time advocate for immunization: "Millions of front-line health workers travel great distances: on foot, on the water, in the snow, even on wagons carrying lifesaving vaccines, know they are saving lives, we can do our part to fight myths and let everyone know that #VaccinesWork ".
Maisa Silva, Brazilian television host and 16-year-old actress: "I accepted the invitation to participate in this campaign because I know the importance of vaccines for the health of children. C & # 39 is a way to protect children from the different risks we already know Health is a very serious issue and we must not forget that vaccines work and are needed. "
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Notes to editors
Download the photos and click here, including the video "Dangers", under embargo until April 24th. Learn more about the campaign here. For more information on UNICEF's work on immunization, click here.
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in the most difficult places in the world to reach the most disadvantaged children in the world. In 190 countries and territories, we work for every child around the world to build a better world for all. For more information on UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org.
Follow UNICEF on Twitter and Facebook
For more information please contact:
Sabrina Sidhu, UNICEF New York, +1 917 4761537, [email protected]
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