Shot@Life | Every Child Deserves the Chance to Make a Silly Face

Picture courtesy of Shot@Life Flickr Stream

"We must do more to reach all children in need, wherever they are excluded and left behind. Some might ask whether we can afford to do this, especially at a time of austerity. But if we overcome the barriers that have kept these children from the services that they need and that are theirs by right, then millions more will grow up healthy, attend school and live more productive lives. Can we afford not to do this?"  - Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UNICEF

I am an advocate of immunization.  I know, there are many arguments for not immunizing your child; however, none of them are compelling enough for me to consider NOT immunizing my own children.

I was shocked to learn that a child dies every 20 seconds from a disease that could be prevented with a vaccine. Kids still get Polio. . .and measles.

Why? Because one in five children lacks access to the life-saving immunizations that keep children healthy.

Imagine a campaign like Shot@Life, a movement to protect children worldwide by providing life-saving vaccines where they are most needed. A movement to ensure that children in third-world countries, live long enough to pass the making silly faces childhood milestone.

Remember when your own children passed that milestone? When they first mimicked the faces you made, then learned how their own facial muscles move and made silly faces in the mirror for hours?   Can you believe there are children in the world that don't live long enough to pass this milestone because they do not have the necessary immunizations to guard against deadly disease?

Access to vaccines has grown significantly in the last decade. Vaccines currently help save 2.5 million children from preventable diseases every year. With your help, global vaccination programs implemented by the Shot@Life partners can stop the 1.5 million unnecessary deaths still happening every year, and ensure that all children, no matter where they live, have a shot at a healthy life. And a chance to reach all their childhood milestones.

I hope you will take a minute to check out what Shot@Life is all about.  To find out more, visit ShotAtLife.org.  You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Catch you soon -

note - this blog post was written as part of Shot@Life's Summer Blog Carnival to help raise awareness of the Shot@Life program.  I did not receive any compensation and as always, all opinions are my very own.