55 Million Acts of Love Mirta Roses Periago, Director Pan American Health Organization

Vaccinating 55 million people is the goal that has been set for the 5 th Vaccination Week in the Americas , which begins today in 45 countries and territories regionwide with the support of the Pan American Health Organization.

This is an enormous challenge, which will be taken up across the Americas in developed and developing countries alike, an undertaking that also reflects the will and capacity of the countries and territories of the Region to take resolute action in solidarity with one another to meet essential public health objectives.

Each country has set its own goals according to its basic needs, and the activities pursued also include campaigns to raise awareness among the public and health workers about the need and benefits of vaccination. Thus, while addressing its own priorities in this area, each country is making a contribution to public health in the Hemisphere in an act of solidarity.

This Pan Americanism has borne fruit. Great strides have been made. However, new challenges require that they be sustained and reinforced. Among the triumphs, we can point to the eradication of smallpox in 1973 and polio in 1994 and the elimination of the indigenous measles virus in 2002. We have the suppression of rubella and the elimination of congenital rubella syndrome in our sights. As well as sustaining our advances and finishing the work pending, the vaccines against rotavirus, human papillomavirus, and pneumococcal virus are among the new challenges we are facing.

In addition to strengthening routine immunization programs in the countries and territories, one of the main objectives of Vaccination Week in the Americas has always been to overcome the physical and socioeconomic barriers to adequate vaccination levels. It is very appropriate, therefore, that the official launch of the 5 th Week this year is on the triple border between Argentina , Brazil , and Paraguay , with special emphasis on the indigenous populations and other groups with low coverage levels.

On the other hand, the maturity attained by this initiative has not only enabled the four previous campaigns to vaccinate more than 147 million people but is leading to the transition from child-centered vaccination to a new paradigm in which immunization includes all family members in all its diverse needs.

We have always maintained that vaccination is an act of love. In this 5 th Vaccination Week, there will be more than 55 million acts of love benefiting girls, boys, adolescents of either sex, mothers, adults, and seniors, thanks to an effort in Pan American solidarity, which has already served as an inspiration for the creation of a similar initiative in Europe and, we expect, will soon be emulated in other regions of the world.