Child Development and Public Health

Immunization is said to have had “a greater impact on human mortality reduction and population growth than any other public health intervention besides clean water” (J.P. Baker, 2000). Immunization is a shot given to protect children from diseases. I believe that child immunization is important for the child’s safety. Children who have not been immunized are at risk of getting sick. The whole concept of immunization is to give the body a specific vaccination in order to keep the child’s body healthy. This topic is very meaningful to me because many children’s are dying daily because they have not been properly immunized. Parents should be made aware of the different immunization shots that a child need. There are many diseases and many kinds of vaccinations that a child must have in order to remain in perfect health. It is the responsibility of the parents, to see that these vaccinations are given to their children.

Not all children of Kenya have had the benefit of being vaccinated, but there is an urgent need to help these children n survive. The reason why is because one-fifth of the children in Kenya, who start the vaccination shot never complete them. Many children in the country of Kenya are at risks of contacting measles. The children of Kenya need their first dose of the measles vaccine before their first birthday. In the capital city of Nairobi, 16 children have died of measles since April of 2006. The hospital has receives about 250 cases of measles every week. Without proper food, water, immunization, and living conditions in Kenya, about 10 percent of the children will die before reaching the age of 5. In Kenya there is an organization called The Kenya Expanded Programmed on Immunization (KEPI). It was established to help prevent diseases among children.

I do not know how learning about immunization could impact my future work. The only thing that I could do is try to educate my parents on the importance of immunization. Children who are healthy will do far better in school, than children who are not healthy. All parents should make sure their children are vaccinated on schedule in order to keep them from getting ill.

Reference:

Baker, Jeffery P. (2000). Immunization and the American way: 4 childhood vaccines. American

     Journal of Public Health, 90, 199-207.