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WHO: 4-5 million childhood deaths to be prevented via immunization by 2015
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 28th April 2014 – Today, as part of an annual regional initiative, leading international pharmaceutical company MSD announced through its UAE office its support for the 2014 EMRO Immunization Week. EMRO Immunization Week 2014 is running from 24th - 30th April and is being hosted by Mediclinic City Hospital in Dubai Healthcare City.
This life-saving project is launched yearly by the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners.
The objective of EMRO Week is to promote immunization for people of all ages through advocacy, education and communications activities – with the goal of protecting all people at risk from vaccine-preventable diseases.
For the third year in succession, MSD UAE is partnering with the well-known Mediclinic City Hospital in Dubai's Healthcare City to invite the UAE community to ensure that their immunizations are up to date. In the US, Merck (known as MSD worldwide) makes vaccines for 11 of 17 diseases on the Center for Disease Control's recommended immunization schedules.
Vaccines have had a profound impact on public health worldwide over more than 150 years. They have helped to prevent more than 30 common infectious diseases, assisted people with long-term disabilities1 and prevented between 2 and 3 million deaths a year2. However, although there have been great successes with vaccination in the UAE, many challenges remain.
The EMRO slogan for 2014 is ‘Immunize for a Healthy Future: Know, Check, Protect'. Mediclinic City Hospital is presenting vaccination in the UAE as a public health priority. Dr Leon Du Preez, Medical Director of the Mediclinic Hospital, opened proceedings by reviewing the hospital's objectives for the week.
Dr Du Preez reiterated Mediclinic's commitment to providing international best healthcare services and expertise to the Dubai community: “At Mediclinic, our aim is to provide expertise that the community can trust – this means ensuring that the medical concerns of this region are placed at the forefront of our healthcare offering to our patients. As evidenced by our regular involvement in EMRO Immunization Week, we aim to be a part of the solution to pressing health concerns in this community.”
In his remarks, Mr Mazen Altaruti, Managing Director of MSD Gulf, commented: 'MSD in the UAE is proud to support EMRO Vaccination Week, which provides an important opportunity to raise awareness about the public health impact of vaccination. We are grateful to Mediclinic City Hospital and the distinguished speakers for their support today: we applaud the commitment they share with us to improve public health in the region.”
MSD's overall research and development expenses were $7.5 billion in 2013; this figure encompasses all avenues of pharmaceutical innovation undertaken by MSD.
He emphasized: 'MSD is fully committed to playing an active role in the prevention of disease worldwide. More than ever before, we recognize that the value of vaccination has moved beyond the reduction of infant mortality, and is becoming an integral component of the provision of healthcare services, from infancy to older age, across the globe. We intend pressing forward with innovative solutions to make vaccines more widely available, limiting potentially preventable deaths and improving quality of life.”
Dr Zainab Malik of the General Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases Department at Mediclinic City Hospital, spoke about Rotavirus as the most common form of diarrheal virus amongst infants around the world, and one of the number one causes of hospitalization amongst children under the age of five in the Middle East. She emphasized this year's slogan ‘Know, Check, Protect' as a useful reminder for parents.
Dr Britt Clausson, an obstetrician and gynecologist at the Dubai Mediclinic City Hospital, talked about the impact of HPV and the prevalence of cervical cancer in the UAE. She noted that HPV is one of the most common viruses affecting women around the world. Certain strains of HPV put women at risk of developing cervical cancer – and in the UAE this is already the second most common cancer affecting women. Raising awareness of the importance of the HPV vaccination is crucial to save lives.
EMRO Vaccination Week is one part of the worldwide WHO Immunization Week, in which more than 180 countries and territories are participating. MSD in the UAE encourages public support for, and participation in, this initiative. The week aims to reinforce the message that immunization prevents disease, while mobilizing action to improve vaccination coverage for the world's at-risk individuals among all age groups.
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