Humanly possible
In Europe and Central Asia, we are celebrating the remarkable 50th anniversary of the Essential Programme on Immunization and showing UNICEF’s historical commitment to saving children’s lives in the region
Vaccines are one of humanity's greatest achievement.
In the last 50 years alone, they’ve saved nearly 154 million lives – that’s more than 3 million lives a year or six people every minute for five decades.
WHO recommends 13 universal immunizations across the life course to defend against deadly illnesses, from pneumonia to diphtheria to measles to rubella. These vaccines, along with the global drives to ensure everyone receives them, are known as the Essential Programme on Immunization (formally, the Expanded Programme on Immunization).
50 years ago, the world launched EPI, bringing life-saving vaccines to children everywhere. Many things have changed in 50 years, but our goal is the same – to ensure every child, everywhere has access to vaccines.
That’s why, this year, in 2024, we’re calling on governments to prioritize investments in immunization, and protect the next generations. For higher-income nations, that means funding Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and other key programmes that help to bring vaccines to the people who need them most. In lower- and middle-income countries, it means committing to reach zero-dose children who have never received a single shot, and any child who was missed due to the disruptions of the pandemic.
Vaccination has reduced infant deaths by 40 per cent; more children now live to see their first birthday and beyond than at any other time in human history. They are one of the smartest human achievements. They are proof that anything is humanly possible when we put our minds to it. In 2024, let’s unite to protect this incredible progress and ensure the next generation of children remains safe from disease.
A world with immunization for all?
That’s Humanly Possible.
Take a journey through historical photos of UNICEF's work supporting children's vaccination in Europe and Central Asia over the past 50 years.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996
Serbia, 2016
Hungary, 2024
Armenia, 2016
Georgia, 1997
Montenegro 2003
Türkiye, 1985
Vial of polio vaccine
Poland, 2022
Uzbekistan, 2014
Albania, 1999
North Macedonia, 1999
Ukraine, 2016
Kyrgyzstan, 2015
Azerbaijan, 2004
Moldova, 2008
