15 Miles for a Shot@Life

It’s ironic, and unplanned, that I’m publishing this post immediately following the post about my son developing petechia after getting his 4 year old immunizations.  When I read the post now, I notice that the bit about getting the immunizations is a minor detail, a given sub-detail of the story line. Sure, for us American mothers, there’s the lately-dwindling controversy over when and if to immunize, but for the most part, we immunize our children as part of the regular checkups that we take our children to on a regular basis as they grow.  And sure, there’s the mellow drama of the actual act, the unhappy process of holding our child still so they can get their medicine via needle, and sometimes the minimal and brief after effects or lethargy, crabbiness, or petechia, but we take it as it comes and life goes happily on.

But.

image from Shot@Life

For many mothers and children around the world, this is not the case.  Imagine having to walk 15 miles with your child to get access to immunizations.  Imagine having no access to immunizations and expecting your child to die from the moment he is born.  Imagine if half of your child’s kindergarten class were to die from preventable diseases.

One in five children around the world do not have access to immunizations. A child dies every 20 seconds from a preventable disease – each year that’s the equivalent to half of all kindergardeners in the US. The United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign is working to  decrease vaccine-preventable childhood deaths and give children a shot at a healthy life.

image from Shot@Life

The little girl at left was one of 6.5 million children who received a measles vaccination in March as part of a UN supported campaign to protect children under the age of five from measles.  Measles cases increased in Myanmar in 2011, and there have been outbreaks and some deaths as a result in 2012. I cannot even wrap my head around the idea that children in this world are still dying from a disease that has been almost completely eradicated from our own country for so long.  It shouldn’t be happening. The goal of the Shot@Life campaign is to ensure that some day soon it won’t happen any more. The gap is closing, but there are still many miles to go.

Fact: A new meningitis vaccine recently launched in sub-Saharan Africa can be manufactured and delivered for only $1 (U.S.).

Imagine.  $1 to give a child the chance to reach milestones like attending kindergarten, learning to read, enjoying recess. But, a dollar is a dollar, and those funds have to come from somewhere.  No, I’m not asking you to give money.  There are lots of ways that you can get involved with Shot@Life.  The first step is awareness.  Now that you’ve read this far, you’re aware.  Here are some next steps:

• Like Shot@Life on Facebook.
• Follow them on Twitter.
• Check out what they’re pinning on Pinterest.
• Order a free personalized journal from Paper Coterie – For every journal ordered, Paper Coterie will donate $2 to Shot@Life, and 15% of every purchase you make after you order your journal.
• Blogust in August – For every comment you make on a blog post involved in Blogust, $20 will be donated towards vaccinating children worldwide. This is a great opportunity to check out some new blogs and do some serious fundraising simply by sharing your words.
• Visit the Get Involved section of Shot@Life’s website to learn more ways you can get involved

 Disclosure: I am writing this post as part of the Shot@Life Summer Blog Carnival.  I am not being compensated in any way for this post, however, one blogger in the carnival will be chosen to be featured on RealSimple.com.  That would be really cool, but getting more kids around the world immunized would be even cooler.

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