Protect children from deadly Japanese encephalitis

Protecting children from Japanese encephalitis (JE) starts a long way from the quick pinch of vaccination. It takes leadership, education, and coordinated action from leaders and communities around the world.

In August, more than a dozen health leaders from countries where JE is endemic (that is, where the disease occurs regularly) met in Manilla, Philippines, to discuss the best way to prevent and control the disease.

Why meet? Because experience and information matter a lot in the fight against JE. Convened by the World Health Organization, leaders from countries at many different stages of vaccine use (from none at all to years of routine immunization) met to discuss strategies, best practices, and challenges in controlling infection.

The result was powerful, real-time problem solving to help guard more children worldwide from this deadly and debilitating disease.

As a global leader in the fight against JE, PATH was a key voice at the meeting. We reached out to new country partners, shared our experiences partnering with Myanmar, Nepal, and other countries, and offered support and information to countries interested in JE vaccine programs. We also introduced a new guide that walks leaders through the important and complex process of introducing JE vaccines into their countries.

None of this work would be possible without the support of donors like you. In the conference room, in the laboratory, and in communities worldwide, your gifts allow us to effectively and efficiently tackle JE from every angle. Thank you!

P.S. Next year, 2017, is set to be a big one in the fight against JE. National leaders, with support from PATH, global and local partners, and donors like you, have planned JE vaccination campaigns in Myanmar, Indonesia, and the Philippines—reaching millions more children. Stay tuned for more updates!

Links:

• PATH

Thank you for helping PATH expand effective Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccination to children across Asia. As you’ve seen, we not only help countries introduce JE vaccination programs, but also help those with existing programs to expand their efforts—so that no child within their borders has to suffer from JE.

Our work in Nepal is a good example. In 2005, a devastating outbreak of JE took the lives of nearly 2,000 people—mostly children—living in poor, rural districts in southern Nepal and northern India. Just a few years later, however, the number of JE cases in the country began to plummet, and not a single JE death has been recorded in Nepal since 2010. The reason for this rapid progress? Expanded use of a safe, effective JE vaccine and the government’s unwavering commitment to its use.

Now, PATH and the government of Nepal are continuing these efforts. Even though death from JE has been halted, the disease is still present. That means it can spread—including to communities in the country’s rugged hills and mountains, which are more difficult to reach with vaccination campaigns.

In response, the Nepal Ministry of Health is continuing to improve its JE prevention and control program. With support from PATH, leaders are expanding JE vaccination campaigns to reach an additional four million children. The country applied for funding from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (a large global funder of vaccines) to help in these efforts. Leaders are also working to align JE vaccination with other routine child immunizations, ensure the continued safety (and safe use) of the vaccine, and improve awareness of JE and vaccination countrywide. Together, these efforts not only to respond to JE, but help stop outbreaks before they begin.

Your support—together with the dedication of the government of Nepal, PATH, and communities throughout the country—is supporting the tenacious and continued response necessary to save lives.

Thank you!