The top 3 vaccine wins for Liberia

Flickr: DFID-UK Department for International Development

Many of us are familiar with recent headlines regarding the Ebola outbreak, which has been extremely severe in Liberia. With nearly 1,481 Ebola-related deaths and poor health infrastructure, Liberia is a nation that has endured many hardships in the past year. What has worsened health conditions in Liberia is not just the Ebola outbreak or the lack of health facilities/workers, but the need for education. When I was growing up, I was lucky enough to have a mother who always kept up with my vaccinations so I never had to suffer from diseases like polio or measles. I never missed school because of a deadly disease and I trusted my doctors when they prescribed medicine to me. It’s only because my mother and I both had access to health education that we trusted the vaccines my doctor gave me, but not everyone is so fortunate.

The Issue

Roughly 50% of young people in Liberia are literate which can only mean that the other 50% is illiterate. This gets worse for girls who are have a literacy rate of only 37%. Without literacy, accessing education gets even harder, which may explain why so many Liberians haven’t been properly educated about the Ebola outbreak affecting their community.

Education and vaccination go hand in hand. When young people don’t have access to quality health education they are more likely to avoid getting vaccinated Without getting vaccinated they are more vulnerable to deadly diseases that keep them out of school. It's easy to see why the more educated young people are, the more likely they are to protect their health, get vaccinated, and continue their education.

This year, Liberia targeted the following 2 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for 2015: reduce maternal deaths by three quarters and achieve universal access to reproductive health (MDG 4), and reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases (MDG 6).

But what successes did Liberia actually have?

Flickr: Center for Global Development

1.) This past January, Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, announced the introduction of the pneuomcoccal vaccine (PCV). Thanks to help from the GAVI Alliance, the vaccine will protect all children of Liberia from one of the top vaccine-preventable killers.

2.) All children less than 1 year old will have access to 6 free vaccines for the 2015 year through it's Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). With vaccines from UNICEF, Liberia has the potential to vaccinate over 155,000 infants from diseases like polio, measles, and pneumonia. With protection against deadly diseases, these infants can grow into healthy young people and go to school.

3.) The introduction of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine pilot in 2 Liberian counties. This is a huge success for Liberian girls since it keeps them protected from one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. With the HPV vaccine, young girls in Liberia will be free to pursue and continue their education without the fear of getting sick from an STI.

But, we need more than vaccines. The current lack of quality healthcare infrastructure affects how well vaccines will work. Without proper facilities vaccines cannot be safely stored and without proper storage, vaccines are useless. Fortunately, GAVI and UNICEF saw this problem and donated 15 new generates to Liberia to store vaccines properly so more children can get vaccinated.

So, what’s the next step?

Liberia is steadily on the path to providing vaccines for all young people if their efforts continue. But in order to make a lasting impact, Liberia needs to invest in health education for young people, especially girls, to promote vaccinations and get rid of deadly diseases once and for all.

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Kiana Robinson

TopicsLiberia UNICEF Vaccines GAVI Alliance Kiana Robinson