WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr Jarbas Barbosa says with 15 out of every 100 children in the Americas, including the Caribbean, only partially protected against vaccine-preventable diseases, countries should continue their efforts to recover routine vaccination coverage.

“Historically, our region has always been a leader in disease elimination. However, for more than a decade, vaccination coverages have significantly decreased,” Dr Barbosa said ahead of the upcoming Vaccination Week in the Americas.

He said this is due to several factors, including a false perception that eliminated and controlled disease no longer pose a risk to peoples’ health; a reduction in the prioritisation of vaccination programs; and the rise in disinformation since the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors.

The PAHO director said while improvements have been made to recover lost ground, more must be done to recover regional vaccination coverage, particularly for highly contagious diseases such as measles.

“This is very concerning, given the rise in measles cases around the globe and the highly contagious nature of this virus,” Dr Barbosa said.

He said countries also remain far from the 90 per cent coverage rate needed to protect girls ages nine  to 14 against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), “which affords them lifelong protection against cervical cancer, one of the main causes of death among women”.

Dr Barbosa said that as countries work towards recovery, they must overcome several challenges and to do this, they will need to increase financial and technical resources to improve the performance of essential vaccination services, establish effective communication strategies to tackle vaccine hesitancy, and increase political commitment to routine vaccination programmes.

But he assured that PAHO stands ready “to support countries as they strengthen disease surveillance, increase vaccination coverage rates in all corners of their national territory and avoid outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases”.

The organisation’s regional vaccine procurement mechanism, the Revolving Fund for Access to Vaccines,  which has provided countries with over 130 million doses of vaccines in 2022 and 2023, also enables countries of the region to access safe and quality vaccines at affordable prices.

Furthermore, PAHO’s special programme, innovation and regional production platform, continues to support the regional manufacturing of vaccines and Dr Barbosa said this “will not only benefit countries of the Americas during emergencies but will help to improve access to vaccines for regular programmes”.

He said as a result of the vaccination, “we have been able to live happier, healthier, longer, and more active lives, while minimising the threat of vaccine-preventable diseases”.

“We cannot be complacent. Vaccines keep us and our loved ones protected against more than 20 diseases and must continue performing their key role in our societies.”

Vaccination Week in the Americas takes place from April 20 under the slogan “Engage now to protect your future,” and will focus on the protection afforded by vaccines as a crucial part of ensuring an active life.

PAHO said countries will aim to reach more than 83.5 million people with almost 156 million doses.