From April 21-28, 2018, the Region of the Americas will celebrate the 16th Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA) campaign with a soccer theme in honor of the 2018 World Cup. The campaign slogan “Strengthen your defense! #GetVax #VaccinesWork” links strengthening defense on the soccer team with strengthening the body’s defense to vaccine-preventable diseases through vaccination.

Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA) is an extraordinary effort led by the countries and territories of the Americas to.

Campaign activities:

• Advance equity and access to vaccination.
• Strengthen national immunization programs by reaching out to populations with little access to regular health services, including people living in urban fringes, rural and border areas, and in indigenous communities.
• Provide a highly visible platform to raise population awareness on the importance of immunization.
• Keep vaccines on the forefront of political agendas.

Since its inception in 2003, more than 700 million individuals of all ages have been vaccinated under the framework of VWA.

Every year since 2012, World Immunization Week (WIW) is also celebrated. WIW provides a formal framework that links sister vaccination week initiatives in all other WHO Regions.