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.

This past October I attended Blogalicious Weekend 2011 in Washington, DC. While there I met Caroline Barrett,  a program officer with Shot At Life, a new global initiative of the United Nations Foundation. Shot At Life  is a  movement to protect children worldwide by providing life-saving vaccines where they are most needed. As a mother and a global citizen, causes supporting global maternal and child health are near and dear to my heart. I know how important vaccines are as a foundation to a healthy childhood; my toddler son has just finished his crucial two-year sequence of vaccines. 

I recently sat down with Peg Willingham, Executive Director for Shot At Life, to get her take on why this is such an important intiative and what moms can do to get involved:

How did Shot At Life come about?
The United Nations Foundation has had a long history of running successful global health campaigns. So much so that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation approached us to launch a grassroots advocacy initiative to support vaccination of children where they are most needed. We worked with a number of global partners to help develop the campaign. In our research, we  realized that mothers of young children were an important audience because mothers typically make the healthcare decisions in the family. We came up with the name Shot@Life to educate people about prevention.  By and large it’s not something most of us think about, but almost two million children are dying each year from preventable diseases.

Why are vaccines such an important health prevention tool?
Right now about 80% of children are covered world wide by vaccines. In the last few years there has been a realization that this is one of the most  cost effective, medically effective interventions there is for health preservation. Especially during a time when budgets are tight, the small cost of a vaccine can make a huge differenence in a child’s life. You can protect not just a child but an entire community.

There are so many reasons vaccines are important. Really, they are a tool for social justice.   Vaccines give children a level playing field. They are helpful for brain development and learning because some childhood diseases can cause brain damage.  A vaccinated child gets a leg up educationally and when they do better in school, they will eventually contribute to their economy. What’s more if a family is displaced by disaster or war, these children are protected where ever they go.

What are the top five things someone can do to get involved?
Spread the word! Talk about Shot At Life Facebook, your blog or on Twitter. People can also host get togethers at home or host a baby shower or scrapbooking party where proceeds go to Shot At Life.  Sign the pledge on line. You can also advocate by calling or writing to your member of congress and let him or her know you support funding life-saving vaccines for children. And of course, you can donate any amount. For just a few dollars you can protect a child for life against measles and other preventable diseases.

What role do you think mothers can play in spreading the word? 
Mothers are important becauase women are online more. More women are on Facebook and Twitter than any other group.Women  tend to be the ones who make the philanthropic decisions in families. And we get things done!  Mothers can relate to mothers in emerging countries. We all want the same thing for our children. The point is, you can do something. It doesn’t have to be huge. Use your voice. You can find ways to get people engaged. Right an Op-ed, do a viral video, help us co-create this campaign. It’s about the creativity and passion of mothers (and all who want to contribute). We hope to ignite a movement that makes people want  to help.

How are donations to Shot@Life used?  
All donations are used for vaccine programs.  We work with UNICEF and the World Health Organization to administer vaccines and, just as important, support vaccine  education, training materials and social mobilization.

Peg speaks so eloquently about mission of this initiative that by the end of our chat, I just knew I had to get personally involved. With all of the controversy surrounding vaccines in the US and other western countries, it’s easy to forget that not so far back in our recent history, people regularly died from influenza, measles and polio. It’s unthinkable that children elsewhere are dying from these diseases which are so easily preventable with inexpensive vaccines.

I’m excited to share that I’ll be volunteering for Shot At Life and participating in their national launch in April, 2012.  I’ll keep you updated with news about this movement and how you can help make sure that every child has an opportunity to lead a healthy and productive life, right from the start. I hope you’ll join me!