Prize journalism PAHO – WHO.
Bogotá, February 2012.- Red-Salud and the Organization Pan American’s Health/Organization World of health (PAHO/WHO), with the support of the Allied journalism Agency for children, Social development and research (PANDI), and the national agency of news by the rights of the child (ANNI Bolivia), invite journalists of Latin America and the Caribbean to participate until 29 February 2012 the version VII for the Latin American prize of journalism in health, Red-Salud, in the category new vaccines ”.
The pageant has intended to encourage the work of journalists that contribute to inform and sensitize the public in general about the importance of new vaccines, the way in which countries introduced immunization against Rotavirus and pneumococcus, and how exercise monitoring and evaluating their impact.
Articles submitted must have been published between January 1, 2011 and February 29, 2012 in newspapers, magazines or electronic means of commercial nature of the region. for a chance to win a prize between $500-$2,000 USD, as well as the publication in Red-Salud.
The prevention of infectious diseases through immunization is considered one of the greatest achievements in public health.
According to information from the who, thanks to the dedication of health professionals, the political will of countries, partnerships, supported by international resources and the use of vaccines, managed eradicate smallpox, reducing the global incidence of polio by 99% since 1998, and decrease the incidence of diseases such as measles, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and hepatitis B. in a blunt way
For more than two decades Latin America and the Caribbean important steps were taken to protect the most vulnerable against diseases, through effective vaccines. In 2006, the ministries of health of the region decided to extend this protection by concentrating on new generation vaccines or new vaccines ” against priority diseases.
Two of these priority diseases for PAHO are Rotavirus – cause of a dehydrating diarrheal disease that can be deadly – and pneumococcal – causing pneumonia and pneumococcal meningitis. For these diseases there are vaccines of proven safety and efficacy, the countries have begun to introduce widely in their national programmes of immunization (EPI).
