As Immunization Week is observed this year between April 24 and April 30, the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) reaffirms its support for global efforts made to eradicate, eliminate, and control vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs).

With the year 2024 marking the passing of 50 years on the establishment of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), we can affirm that the global vaccine drives seen in the second half of the 20th are amongst humanity’s greatest milestones.

On this occasion, let us commemorate the global efforts made to save lives from vaccine-preventable diseases and let us use this occasion to reiterate the need to continue investing in immunization programs. Let us acknowledge that such programs enhance qualities of life for populations across the globe, whereby in the last 50 years, our world evolved from one where the death of a child is common to a world where vaccination contributes to increasing children’s life expectancy.

In the year 1974, the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) focused on protecting all children against six VPDs, but today, this number has grown to 13 universally recommended vaccines across the life course, and 17 additional vaccines with context dependent recommendations.