A vast majority of individuals have heard of the World Health Organization (WHO), but not many people really know what it does. WHO is part of the United Nations but it does not run or operate hospitals, clinics, or treat sick people itself, but it provides guidance and support on how countries should tackle the health problems people are facing. Among everything WHO has done since it was introduced all the way back in 1948, the vaccination project is considered one of its biggest accomplishments to date, as it has been considered to have saved the most lives. This essay supports the claim and argues that the vaccination program of WHO has been one of the most astonishing things to come out of countries working together and being united.
What WHO Actually Does
Firstly, WHO is not actually the organisation that creates the vaccines; that is done by scientists in laboratories. Instead, WHO brings countries together and helps them collaborate. It provides information to governments around the world about which vaccines are most beneficial to people, checks the stability and quantity of vaccines, and ensures that these vaccines are not harmful to humans. It also works with different groups to transport vaccines to different areas that cannot afford them by themselves. This occupation is essential because diseases are simply not trapped inside one country’s borders. A country with low vaccine rates can ultimately lead to the transmission of diseases to other countries, as shown in the past by diseases like polio and measles before the global programs took initiative. Having one group that sets a target for the entire world prevents some countries from going in the wrong direction and keeps the world united.
The Expanded Programme on Immunization
A program called the Expanded Programme on Immunization, or EPI, which WHO started in 1974, is an example of a disease prevention method. This was directly after the world had eliminated smallpox completely, which provided evidence that a smoothly run vaccination program could eradicate a disease forever. EPI is a WHO program with the aim of providing access to vaccines for the whole population, and it has been called one of the most significant public health efforts of the last century. When it started, a minority of individuals were getting vaccinated. In 1974, only about 5% of children in poor countries and rural areas and 21% of children around the world were getting even basic vaccines.
The percentage may seem abnormally low, but in the modern day, all countries have some sort of national vaccine program, and vaccines are seen as one of the safest and most cost-effective ways to keep people safe from diseases and infections. Before, this was not there. In its first half century, EPI prevented roughly 154 million deaths, out of those 154 million deaths, 146 million of those being children under five years old, and more than 100 million being babies not even a year old. The majority of that came from just a single vaccine; this shows just how effective vaccination can be. The measles vaccine by itself single-handedly suppressed about 93.7 million of those 154 million deaths, making it the most effective vaccine in the entire program. Vaccines have also reduced the mortality rate, mainly in descendants.
Vaccines accounted for roughly 40% of the decrease in baby deaths worldwide, and more than half in Africa. A study in 2024 published something called The Lancet, which is a medical journal, to mark the EPI’s 50th anniversary. Rather than counting the number of deaths that have been prevented, instead, it looked at the safety people are experiencing because of the effective vaccines they are taking. Children who are less than ten years old in 2024 are around 40% more likely to be able to celebrate their eleventh birthday compared to those individuals who refused to take vaccines. Overall, EPI has been the best program over the last half-century at reducing baby death rates and helping descendants survive.
New Diseases Being Added After 1974
After 1974, EPI made changes. Firstly, it began by covering seven diseases: tuberculosis (TB), diphtheria, measles, whooping cough, polio, smallpox, and tetanus, but has since expanded to protect older children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly. As of 2026, the program, now changing its name to the Essential Programme on Immunization, covers much more. It now recommends vaccines for a lot more diseases. The new diseases include rubella, pneumonia-causing bacteria, Hib, hepatitis B, RSV, rotavirus, and COVID-19.
This suggests how WHO’s thinking has been improved. It is not just about keeping babies alive anymore but now about providing safety to people throughout their whole lives, since things like HPV-related cancer can still harm people once they are aged. These new changes and additions increased vaccine usage, with a completion rate of an important vaccine reaching 83% by the year 2010. This might not be the most exciting aspect, but maintaining the cold temperatures needed for vaccines from factories to remote rural places is arguably one of the most difficult things in the whole campaign of vaccination.
Including Poor Countries
An enormous sector of what WHO has achieved is making sure vaccines are not just for countries that can afford them but also for less wealthy countries and rural parts of the world. Historically, a longstanding challenge was not that vaccines did not exist; it was that poor countries could not afford them. This led to the creation of something called Gavi, which was brought up around 1999 to 2000. Gavi comprises WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, governments, charities, and scientists who make vaccines, all collaborating towards getting supplementary vaccines to children in underprivileged communities. By purchasing an abundance of vaccines together, Gavi has given opportunities to countries with small health budgets to buy new and improved vaccines instead of being behind wealthier countries on the list. For COVID-19, COVAX was used as the vaccine part of a bigger strategy to improve the pace of making COVID-19 vaccines fairly, with the aim of reducing death rates and helping the world get back to where it once was. It was not perfect nor ideal; the countries who could afford the vaccines received the vaccines before poorer countries. However, something like COVAX was built specifically to amend that gap. This shows what WHO is trying to represent.
Why This Still Matters
A study concluded that every dollar that had been spent on vaccines between 2011 and 2020 brought back up to 26 dollars in value over a child’s life; this was mainly from saved medical costs and money not spent on treating sickness. Ignoring the money advantages, vaccines prevent children from dying and suffering from diseases that used to kill millions of them every year, back when that was not considered abnormal. COVID-19 caused errors with regular vaccine schedules almost everywhere, and as of today, it has not been 100% recovered. WHO’s plan exists to increase vaccine rates back up like before the pandemic and strengthen routine vaccine systems before 2030. Global vaccine rates have plateaued at 89% for the first dose of a key vaccine and 83% for the first measles shot during 2022 to 2023, with the biggest anomalies in underprivileged countries, African nations, and places dealing with conflict. To summarise, WHO is not done yet; they are still trying to keep countries united and not divided.
A New Vaccine Against Malaria
The vaccine against malaria is one of WHO’s latest works. WHO approved the first vaccine in 2021, and a second one subsequently. Ever since, 24 countries have added malaria vaccines into their regular childhood vaccine programs. A pilot program run by WHO and Gavi reached over 2 million kids and ended up leading to a 13% decline in the death rates of children.
The Challenges WHO Still Has To Face
Despite WHO’s success, its project on vaccination is not considered an easy thing. A major issue that must be addressed is money, as WHO relies mainly on funding from member countries and donors, and when that funding ends up being delayed, vaccine programs in less wealthy countries can decelerate. Another concern is trust, as in some parts of the world, people are not too convinced by the idea of vaccination because of the spread of misinformation online. WHO has to take time and effort just to persuade people that vaccines are not harmful, on top of getting the vaccines to them. War and conflict make it more difficult for WHO since it is very tricky to run a vaccination program where city streets are dangerous or families have been forced to migrate. These problems can easily affect WHO; it cannot just rely on the success it has achieved in previous years. WHO must adapt and find solutions to newer issues.
Conclusion
Looking at the full picture, the outstanding story of WHO and vaccines is a notable example of international collaboration. Through EPI and everything that came after it, WHO completely changed views on vaccination, as now almost all countries in the world have vaccines as a part of healthcare. After more than 150 million deaths prevented, a skyrocket in how probable children are to survive in their early years, and a money return that is not easy to overcome, these claims are not fake; they are evident through statistics. Although WHO has had success, they still have work to do, primarily in rural areas of the world and unstable countries where vaccine rates have still not matched their initial rates before COVID-19. However, WHO’s track record makes a strong case for continuing to support its work because as new needs show up, there have to be new vaccines to match them.
By: Rawin Sachamitr
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