Distinguished participants,Dear colleagues,Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. I am very pleased to welcome you to the 20th meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on Immunization and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in the Western Pacific Region.
For two decades the TAG has provided sound technical advice on all aspects of our immunization programmes.
It has guided us to new goals and targets and pressed for coordination among all concerned with immunization to make our gains sustainable.
The tireless efforts of the TAG were matched by the work of your national immunization programmes and the support of our key partners.
The result is an impressive list of achievements in vaccine-preventable disease control.
For a start, the Western Pacific remains polio-free.
Countries in the region continue to making extraordinary efforts to eliminate measles by 2012.
Rubella control is improving.
Success in hepatitis B control is also impressive. Before vaccination, over 8% of children in most countries suffered chronic hepatitis B infection.
Today, 27 countries have likely reduced these rates to less than 2%.
Protection against maternal and neonatal tetanus is increasing in the countries concerned; fostered by closer collaboration between EPI and mother and child health programmes.
Vaccines against pneumonia and diarrhoea promise to further reduce child mortality in our Region and therefore contribute to achieving Millennium Development Goal 4.
The first Regional Vaccination Week last April celebrated the achievements of immunization programmes in promoting healthy communities throughout our Region.
With the achievements made to date we have established the foundation for sustained change to improve the efficiency, equity, and effectiveness of immunization – and ultimately of health systems.
However, to move into the next decade, we need to understand what our remaining challenges are.
We have to do our analysis in an evidence-based way and work with Member States in a realistic and consensus-building fashion.
Strengthening immunization systems remains at the core of EPI disease control efforts.
The current main regional goals of measles elimination, hepatitis B control and maintaining polio-free status were established with this broader objective in mind.
Therefore, this TAG meeting will take a very close look at immunization data.
Although our data may not always be complete and reliable, there is little doubt that vaccine-preventable diseases are clustered primarily among the poor and disadvantaged.
But our immunization programmes are not reaching those people nearly as well as they are reaching the better-off.
So we need realistic recommendations from this 20th TAG meeting on how to help the poor and disadvantaged.
This way we can alleviate inequities in health service use and contribute to reducing the differences in health status.
This will also provide the necessary impetus to further advance our specific vaccine preventable disease control goals.
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our new
EPI Team Leader, Dr Sergey Diorditsa.
I can assure you that his dedication, extensive professional expertise in immunization and vast experience in disease control will support you all in successfully moving EPI into the next decade
I thank all of you for your commitment to making the Expanded Programme on Immunization a vibrant and productive programme in the Western Pacific Region.
There are too many partners, donors and good friends for me to thank you all personally.
But I want you to know that we are truly grateful for your support and for helping to protect so many children in this Region from vaccine-preventable and other diseases.
I look forward to learning about your recommendations. Once again, thank you, and enjoy your stay in Manila.