Have you ever felt so passionate about an issue that you thought, ” I really need to contact my local member of congress and tell them how I feel?” You vow you’ll write a letter, sign an on-line petition or call your member of congress’ office and then somehow life gets in the way and you never do it.  

This week I’m guest blogging over at the ShotAtLife Campaign blog. You can read here  how I went from recovering arm-chair political pundit to activist advocating to provide life-saving vaccines to children in developing nations. While you are there, I hope you’ll take the time to learn about (and get involved with)  this incredible campaign that is making a real difference in the lives of children around the world.

Imagine you are a parent watching your child burning with fever or suffering from diarrhea and knowing there is nothing you can do to help her.  You may have never heard of rotavirus, polio, or measles but you know these diseases make your child sick. Very sick. You know because you’ve lost a child before as have many families in your village.   

A mother’s duty is to protect her child. 

You know that you can vaccinate your child, but you’ll have to walk fifteen miles in hot sun to get to a mobile outdoor clinic. 

You know that a simple vaccine could save your child’s life and so you wrap your littlest child around your back, grab the hand of your older child and you walk. 

You walk because you know that vaccine will save your child’s life.

You walk because you are desperate to save your child’s life.

You walk because you want your child to outlive you not the other way around. 

A child dying before entering kindergarten is a reality for far too many families around the world.

Too many families in countries most of us will never visit bury their children before they reach kindergarten age because of lack of access to vaccines that we take for granted in most western countries. 

I have to be honest. I never gave that much thought to vaccines before I became a mother two and half years ago to my son D2.  

And when I became a mother, I got lots of unsolicted advice about vaccinating my child. So much advice. Spread the vaccines out. Don’t give your child the MMR vaccine before he is two. Don’t vaccinate until he’s ready to go to school.  I was in a frenzy. I worried. I fretted. I read research reports and books dedicated to vaccine safety.  Then I got a grip and got real.

I vaccinated my child.  

I realized that  I am blessed with health insurance, regular access to good medical care and yes, vaccines, that keep my child healthy. 

Here in the US and other western countries, we have the luxury and privlege of deciding whether we want to vaccinate our children. We have a choice. But parents in places like Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Cambodia, Laos -the list goes on – often do not. 

What I didn’t know before getting involved with the ShotAtLife campaign is that nearly 1.7 million children die needlessly from preventable childhood diseases like pneumonia, diarrhea, polio and measles. 

I didn’t know that one in five children lack access to life-saving immunizations.

But there’s good news. These children don’t have to die and it costs so very little to protect them. In fact, just $20 can protect a child for life against these diseases. 

The better news is that the growing availability of vaccines in developing countries means that polio has nearly been eradicated from most parts of the world. Measles is on the decline as are deaths related to diarrhea and pneumonia.  In Mexico, diarrhea-related deaths decreased by 46% following the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine. That represents a reduction of  about 880 deaths per year!

I can easily spend $20 indulging in my favorite coffee drink each week. Why not help vaccinate a child?

After D2 was born, I made a commitment to him and myself that I would do what I could to make his world better. I also felt it was my obligation to be a voice for other mothers around the world.

That’s why I got involved with the Shot@Life campaign which is mobilizing communities around the country to advocate for life-saving vaccines for children in developing countries.  If you believe like I do that every child deserves to have a healthy childhood and a productive adulthood, please get involved with this campaign. Getting involved is easy. Start by going to the campaign’s official website.  Then get started!

• Write to your local congressional representative
• Sign the pledge
• Host an awareness/fundraising event
• Write an Op-Ed for your local paper sharing your support for global vaccines

There is so much you can do to ensure every child has a shot at those milestones we look forward to as parents:  those first steps, that first lost tooth, the first day of school, so many milestones to cherish.

Here in the US and other parts of the western world, we are mired in deep philosophical arguments about the safety of vaccines despite the undeniable science that demonstrate that vaccines have immeasurably improved our public health and increased our life span.

Frankly, (I promised myself I wasn’t getting on a soap box for this post but I’ve got to sound off just this once) it’s astounding. I think about what a parent in  Mexico or Mozambique might say if they knew we were voluntarily not immunizing our children. Would we trade places with them? I think not. Would they trade places with us?

Thankfully the tide seems to be turning as physicians and the scientific community improve their ability to communicate the science and safety of vaccines to the public.

The issue is quite simple really. Vaccines save lives. Period.

I believe in vaccines. I believe that they are one of the best and most cost effective ways of protecting our children’s health.  I believe that every child no matter where she lives in the world, deserves to have the same opportunity my child has. I hope you’ll join me and support the Shot@Life Campaign and global vaccines.