HEALTH CHALLENGES AND VACCINATION CAMPAIGN IN AFRICA

Reports show that 58.03 million people who died globally in 2005, 10.9 million (18.8%) were from the WHO African Region.

The majority of deaths (64%) that occurred in the Region resulted from HIV/AIDS (19%), lower respiratory infections (10%), malaria (8%), diarrhoea
diseases (7%), cerebrovascular disease (4%), ischemic heart disease (3%), tuberculosis (3%), measles (3%), low birth weight (2%), birth asphyxia and birth trauma (2%) and maternal conditions (2%).

Africa, as a region, faces several challenges as regards health care, some of them include;
● Weak leadership, inadequate legislation, limited community participation, and resource inefficiency.

● Extreme shortages of health workers, compromising effective
public health interventions.
● Corruption in medical products and technologies, unreliable
supply systems, and irrational use.
● Lack of ICT and mass internet connectivity limits national health
management information systems’ capacity.
● There is also the poor allocation of funds to the healthcare sector,
inadequate policies, and inefficient use of resources.
● Inadequate organisation and management of health services

Debunking Myths about Vaccines

● Vaccines are not safe: Vaccines are very safe, respite  implications to the contrary in many anti-vaccine publications. Most vaccine-adverse events, such as a sore arm or mild fever, are minor and temporary. These can often be controlled by taking paracetamol after vaccination.

● Vaccines cause diseases: First, no vaccine is 100% effective. To make vaccines safer than the disease, the bacteria or virus is killed or weakened (attenuated). For reasons related to the individual, not all vaccinated persons develop immunity. Most

routine childhood vaccines are effective for 85% to 95% of recipients. Second, in most high-income countries, the people
who have been vaccinated vastly outnumber those who have not.

Excerpt from The African Lane Magazine’s 4th Edition.

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The African Lane Magazine 4th Edition