In an effort to immunize children in Ecuador and Guatemala, two members from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) recently completed a global mission trip to the two developing countries. Nurse Practitioner and AANP member Dr. Kathy Wheeler went to Ecuador to vaccinate hundreds of children against life-threatening diseases while her colleague Dr. Deborah Gray led a delegation of nursing students to Guatemala to administer vaccines and healthcare services. Dr. Gray’s delegate team was made up of undergraduate and graduate students from Old Dominion University who tended to hundreds of children through ChildFund’s community partner, Corazón de los Niños.

One in five children globally lacks access to vaccines needed to survive and vaccines are one of the most cost-effective ways to save and improve the lives of children worldwide. Currently there are 1.5 million annual vaccine-preventable childhood deaths occurring globally which has led to a partnership between AANP and a United Nations Foundation campaign called Shot@Life. Together the two organizations are encouraging people to learn about, advocate for, and donate to vaccine programs.

The Shot@Life campaign was created to raise awareness and funding to expand access to lifesaving vaccines for children in developing countries. 40 members of AANP have pledged to advocate for childhood immunizations through the multi-year partnership with Shot@Life, and during World Immunization Week which occurred April 24-30, AANP and Shot@Life worked together to call on policymakers, government organizations, healthcare providers, and citizens to support and advocate for funding of global vaccines.

Shot@Life is thriving because of its 40 champion AANP members, which includes Drs. Wheeler and Gray. They support the campaign through advocacy and fundraising efforts that strengthen access to childhood vaccines worldwide. They are also leading their own grassroots education efforts, like their mission trips to Ecuador and Guatemala, which was an eye-opening experience for everyone involved that made a life-changing impact on the hundreds of children they vaccinated. Immunizations are the best way to keep children and families healthy, and every nurse practitioner and Shot@Life Champion is doing their part to advocate for healthy children and families.

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Shot@Life estimates that every 20 seconds a child around the world dies from a disease that can be prevented by a vaccine. Funding for global vaccine programs is less than one percent of the total US budget, yet that funding helps save 2.5 million lives every year. The US has had a federal initiative called Vaccines for Children in place since 1994 and the initiative provides vaccines at no cost to at-risk children. Similar initiatives are needed at a global level, and the Shot@Life Campaign is a step forward in the movement to raise awareness and provide vaccine administration worldwide.

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