Last month, we joined
leaders at the World Economic Forum's
annual meeting in New York to discuss
issues we all face in an increasingly
perilous, porous and interconnected world.
Two of the Forum's major themes were
especially timely: 'Advancing Security
and Addressing Vulnerability' and 'Reducing
Poverty and Improving Equity.'
There
is no question that these are two sides of the same
coin. We cannot advance world security without dealing
with the poverty and inequity that afflict many developing
nations. Disease and hunger breed economic weakness
and political instability, and this puts us all at
risk.
Our failure to act forcefully to fight poverty
and disease has provided fringe groups with a rallying
cry, allowing extremists to pose as benefactors
and false advocates for the poor. Insufficient
action could be costly in the extreme.
World leaders should immediately direct their
attention to basic measures that could remove the
underlying causes of turmoil, to help children
grow up strong and productive, and to remove the
sources of bitterness that divide us. Global health
is one area where enormous inequities exist, and
some of these inequities are far from insurmountable.
Indeed, the very simplicity of some solutions
has allowed us to overlook them. For example, little
attention has been focused on efforts to halt the
spread of diseases that are already preventable
by vaccines but still take the lives of three million
people every year, most of them in developing countries.
The Vaccine Fund, in partnership with the Global
Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI),
is committed to rooting out such diseases as hepatitis
B, yellow fever, and Haemophilus influenza b, a
leading cause of childhood meningitis. These diseases
rarely affect children in industrialized countries,
but they continue to destroy young lives and hold
back progress in the developing world.
Parents across the United States and in other
Western countries are familiar with the 'six-pack'
of inoculations that are administered to children,
in many cases as a prerequisite to entering school.
This basic preventive measure has now become an
'11-pack' as more vaccines are added to the list.
Yet, every year, 30 million newborns across the
world receive no vaccinations. Many of the world's
74 poorest countries, where The Vaccine Fund is
focusing its efforts, even lack an effective delivery
system to get these vaccines to the children in
need.
Consider this: If an AIDS vaccine is discovered,
it will do little good unless it can be delivered
and administered to those most at risk. As part
of our work to provide vaccinations to the world's
children, The Vaccine Fund and GAVI are helping
develop the delivery systems that could be used
when an AIDS vaccine is developed.
Many of the countries slated to receive our support,
such as Afghanistan, Sudan, and Sierra Leone are,
not coincidentally, among the world's trouble spots
illustrating the vicious circle of conflict, poverty
and poor health.
We've learned time and again that poverty, disease
and social chaos in any one country can undermine
the security of all countries. We cannot, in a
blink, remove all of these ills from the global
scene. But we can take immediate steps to address
the basics.
Vaccination is one of the world's best values.
For less than $30, a child can be fully immunized
against all the vaccine-preventable diseases that
can kill. The Vaccine Fund was launched at the
World Economic Forum in January 2000 and now has
resources of just over $1 billion. To date, we've
committed more than $800 million to vaccines and
enhanced delivery systems in 53 of the 74 eligible
countries.
The Vaccine Fund has set a goal to raise $2 billion
for these vital vaccinations--a lot of money, true,
but the costs of inaction are far greater. We asked
the world's business and political leaders at this
year's Forum to take up the challenge. The world's
children are awaiting their decision.
Rania Al-Abdullah
is Queen of Jordan and a member of the board
of The Vaccine Fund. Jacques-François
Martin is president of The Vaccine Fund.
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