When the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) was established 40 years ago, only around 5% of the world’s children were protected from six diseases — polio, diphtheria, tuberculosis, pertussis, measles and tetanus — targeted by four vaccines.
Today, that figure is 83%, with some developing countries reaching 99% immunization coverage. What started as an ambitious effort to tackle six vaccine-preventable diseases has become one of the world’s most successful public health programmes.
Read the commentary "Beyond expectations: 40 years of EPI" by Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General published in The Lancet, 17 May edition.
Various articles on the 40 years of EPI have been published. You can check them out at the following links:
WHO Bulletin: “In the mood for wiping out vaccine-preventable diseases”
WHO Bulletin: “The immunization programme that saved millions of lives”
WHO Bulletin: “Health system cost of delivering routine vaccination in low- and lower-middle income countries: what is needed over the next decade?”
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