A nurse rides a motorbike down the track that separates the clinic from the last hamlet. In her bag, a cool box and a few dozen doses. In the hamlet, children the register has never counted. In recent years more than fourteen million children worldwide have received no vaccine dose, according to the World Health Organization and UNICEF. President Macky Sall places their vaccination among the commitments of his candidacy for the office of UN Secretary-General.
The "zero-dose" children. More than half of them live in ten countries, often in conflict zones, in slums or in cut-off regions. A child nobody has counted appears on no follow-up list.
A target for 2030. The Immunization Agenda 2030, adopted in 2020, aims to halve the number of zero-dose children by then. The target is clear; it remains to track it country by country, with published figures.
The last mile. Cold chain, community health workers, digital registers: vaccination is won by presence. A well-trained worker and a cool box that works are worth more than a one-off campaign.
Producing in Africa. The continent imports almost all the vaccines it uses. Producing on site shortens delays and creates skilled jobs. The Secretary-General can help bring funders, regulators and manufacturers together.
Health first. Twelve years as head of state showed President Macky Sall that a village's trust in its clinic is earned birth after birth. The vision statement filed with the United Nations places health among the conditions of peace.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF immunization coverage estimates and the Immunization Agenda 2030 are public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net