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In the face of an upsurge in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday announced a new campaign in social media, stressing that "vaccines are safe and save lives. Lives".
To inspire confidence in the potency and safety of vaccines, UNICEF uses the #VaccinesWork hashtag for the global campaign, focused on World Immunization Week, April 24-30.
"We want the #VaccinesWork virus to become viral," said Robin Nandy, immunization officer at UNICEF. "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 so-called heroes of vaccination – parents and community members to health care workers and innovators.
A unifying hashtag
#VaccinesWork has long been used to bring together advocates for online immunization.
This year, UNICEF has partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Vaccine Alliance, a public-private partnership known as the of Gavi, to encourage greater reach.
In April, whenever you like or share social media posts with the #VaccinesWork hashtag, the Gates Foundation will donate one dollar to UNICEF – up to a million dollars in total – to ensure that everyone the children receive the vaccines that saved their lives.
"More children than ever are vaccinated with vaccines," said Violaine Mitchell of the Foundation. She paid tribute to UNICEF and its international partners who "work tirelessly to ensure that all children, especially those in the world's poorest countries, can be protected from life-threatening infectious diseases".
UNICEF Goodwill Ambbadador Amitabh Bachchan praised the "millions of front-line health workers" who walk vast distances on foot, on the water, in the snow and even on carts to deliver vaccines that save lives. "
"We can also do our part to fight the myths and inform everyone of #VaccinesWork," she said.
"Protect your child"
According to UN figures, vaccines save up to three million lives a year by protecting children from life-threatening infectious diseases such as measles, pneumonia, cholera and diphtheria.
In addition, they are one of the most cost-effective health tools ever invented, with every dollar spent on childhood immunization generating profits of up to $ 44.
And yet, in 2017, about 1.5 million children died of vaccine-preventable diseases, the United Nations said. Although often due to lack of access, some countries tend to think that families who are skeptical about vaccines delay or refuse to vaccinate their children.
This has resulted in several epidemics, including an alarming outbreak of measles in high-income countries fueled by digital and social media platforms.
That's why the centerpiece of the UNICEF campaign is a 60-second animated film entitled Dangers, based on the premise that "children, by their very nature, are little daredevils who are constantly in danger ". The video explains that even if parents can not eliminate all the risks, they can vaccinate to "prevent the dangers that threaten their children".
"Today, nine out of ten children are vaccinated, but we can not leave anyone behind," said Angélique Kidjo, UNICEF Goodwill Ambbadador and Grammy Award winner. "We need to provide every child with life-saving vaccines."
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