The global imperative to address vaccine-preventable diseases

Background When one speaks of global health, there are few issues that actually have a health impact globally rather than in just one or more regions of the world or in a specific population. When truly thinking globally, among the most important global health issues affecting large segments of the world's populations is the persistence of vaccine-preventable diseases. Objective The aim of this article is to provide a perspective on the importance of immunisation as a unique global health concern in that it is not a time-limited issue. Discussion Although there may be outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases within or across nations, effective immunisation strategies cannot be conducted in a one-off manner. No matter how effective a single immunisation campaign may be, each year there is a new global cohort of children who need protection to prevent disease, as well as new opportunities to vaccinate adults against a wide array of avoidable illnesses. The developing world should no longer experience 450,000 preventable deaths each year from rotavirus, nor 145,000 from measles. By the same token, there should no longer be 2000 preventable deaths each year from influenza in Australia. It is time to use our global health efforts to address the most pressing risks, both at home and abroad.