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EU, WHO cooperate to promote benefits of vaccines

European Commission, World Health Organization (WHO) co-host world's first Global Vaccination Summit in Brussels

News Service
17:10 - 12/09/2019 Thursday
Update: 17:12 - 12/09/2019 Thursday
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File photo
File photo

The EU and the UN body on Thursday joined forces to accelerate global action to stop the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.

The European Commission and the World Health Organization (WHO) co-hosted the world's first Global Vaccination Summit in Brussels.

"It is inexcusable that in a world as developed as ours, there are still children dying of diseases that should have been eradicated long ago," Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, told the summit.

Vaccination already prevents 2-3 million deaths a year and could prevent a further 1.5 million if global vaccination coverage is improved, he said.

Juncker and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, called for an urgent intensification of efforts to stop the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles.

"After many years of progress, we are at a critical turning point. Measles is resurging, and 1 in 10 children continues to miss out on essential childhood vaccines," Ghebreyesus said.

#diseases
#EU
#European Commission
#Jean-Claude Juncker
#measles
#World Health Organization
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