Immunization programs worldwide appear to save close to 3 million lives annually. They also protect 750,000 children from becoming disabled - some 500,000 from polio. Despite these successful efforts to immunize more children, some 3 million children still die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases. This means that every minute, somewhere in the world, there are approximately 6 children dying of a vaccine preventable disease. One child is dying every minute from measles alone.
Immunization is the most cost-effective health measure.
It is also an essential component in a nation's efforts to boost economic development and reduce poverty. Immunization contributes to alleviating poverty by enabling more children to stay in school, preparing them for better jobs. It increases productivity by allowing parents to work instead of caring for sick children. Immunization frees up resources that otherwise would have been spent to treat disease and reduces disabilities leading to decreased economic productivity. A child in the developing world is 10 times more likely to die of a vaccine-preventable disease than a child in the industrialized world.