EU, WHO cooperate to promote benefits of vaccines

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - 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.