KABUL - It is vital to immunize more Afghans against vaccine-preventable diseases and protect them from malaria, government and United Nations officials said 24 April during a Kabul ceremony launching two major health events.

Afghanistan's Minister of Public Health, Dr Suraya Dalil, launched both Vaccination Week, which commences 24 April, and World Malaria Day, which falls on 25 April.

Vaccination Week is being held for the first time in Afghanistan and 21 other countries within the World Health Organization's Eastern Mediterranean Region. Similar campaigns were also launched in WHO's Europe and Americas regions, bringing to more than 100 countries that are using the event to highlight the importance of vaccinating children against preventable diseases.

Some 2.1 million children in the Eastern Mediterranean Region did not receive the Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis trivalent (DPT3) vaccine in 2009. Vaccine-preventable diseases kill one quarter of children who die before their fifth birthday. Measles, influenza, polio and other diseases pose major health threats to unvaccinated children.

In Afghanistan, great strides have been made to expand immunization for vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio, but challenges still remain.

"Every year in Afghanistan, an estimated 180,000 infants miss their routine vaccination. Some of those not immunized belong to hard-to-reach groups living in insecure areas lacking regular access to health services," said Peter Graaff, WHO's representative to Afghanistan, during the Kabul ceremony. "Others are not immunized due to little awareness of the importance of immunization. Measles outbreaks keep occurring in some areas, while the wild polio virus is circulating in Southern parts of the country."

Dr Eric Laroche, WHO's Assistant Director-General for Health Action in Crises, said the inability to reach many of these children who live in southern Afghanistan is a major barrier for the country's efforts to eradicate polio and immunize Afghans against other preventable diseases.

"Access to communities affected by violence or distance is a major obstacle for our work to vaccinate children," said during the Kabul launch. "But we have seen that reaching out to all people, encouraging them to put the health of their children first, can be something that all sides can agree on."

Afghanistan's disease control achievements include:
• Stopping the circulation of polio in many districts
• Establishing a robust Disease Early Warning System that rivals - and even betters - those in many countries around the world
• Increasing pentavalent vaccine coverage from 69% in 2006 to 83% in 2009.
• Expanding measles coverage from 64% in 2006 to 76% in 2009.
• More than 2700 vaccinators are providing immunization services through fixed, outreach and mobile activities all over the country.
• Immunization services have been expanded with the introduction of about 200 health sub-centers and mobile health teams.

Vaccination Week is a partnership between WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund that aims to do more to ensure children and all people are vaccinated against measles, diphtheria, influenza, polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

In particular, it stresses the need for all members of the Afghan community to be aware of the merits of immunization and to allow vaccination campaigns to take place.

"Every day millions of children are children are born around the world, including thousands in Afghanistan," said UNICEF's representative for Afghanistan, Catherine Mbengue. "All need protection from vaccine preventable diseases and communicable diseases like malaria."

"The Ministry of Public Health is working very hard and leading our work so we can reach all the children in the country with vaccination services, however to be able to reach them we need the support of the communities so they can recognize the value of protecting their children's lives," said Ms Mbengue.

World Malaria Day is launched globally on 25 April with theme of "Counting Malaria Out." Malaria remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality and is a significant public health issue worldwide, Afghanistan being no exception with approximately 400,000 cases reported last year.

"Individuals cannot fight this battle alone. We depend on the active involvement of everyone who is committed to protecting the health of Afghans," Mr Graaff said. "This is the strength behind the Health Ministry's Malaria Control program, which is leading a multi-sectoral effort towards making Afghanistan's northern provinces free of malaria over the next 5 years."