Hollywood actress Salma Hayek’s widely publicized act of breastfeeding a local child on her recent visit to Sierra Leone, Africa was a powerful and heartwarming humanitarian act, one that will go far to publicize the atrocious conditions of children in this, the world’s poorest country, and in other poor countries. However, her act of compassion detracted from the intended focus of her trip: young children dying needlessly from diseases that are easily preventable by readily available and inexpensive vaccines.
The breastfeeding event occurred when Ms. Hayek saw a malnourished-looking infant – malnourished because his mother was unable to supply sufficient breast milk, a situation that is often a death sentence in poor countries. Ms. Hayek was still nursing her own child.
The infant mortality rate in Sierra Leone is 160 per 1000 live births (and likely, higher). That means that of every 1,000 babies born, 160 die before their first birthday. By the age of 5 years, 278 have died. In Iceland, the country with the lowest rates, the numbers are 2.9 and 3.9 per 1,000 births. For the rates in your country,
see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_infant_mortality_rate
In Sierra Leone, the lack of infant immunizations accounts for many deaths; tetanus alone is responsible for 20%. (Ms. Hayek went to Africa as a representative of UNICEF to draw attention to the tetanus situation.) Children in Western countries begin their tetanus vaccinations at two months, totally preventing this disease.
But there is a small number of parents in Western countries who believe that childhood immunizations are either harmful or no longer needed because the diseases have been eradicated. Not so. The bacteria that cause tetanus, for example, live in soil everywhere. One way of contracting tetanus is to step on a dirty nail. It could happen in your backyard.
All children everywhere should receive all the vaccines recommended by health authorities. People opposing vaccinations zero in on the complications of vaccines rather than on the consequences of the diseases. Vaccines are miracle drugs that prevent millions of deaths each year. Complications from vaccines are extremely rare.
Vaccines become even more important when you travel. Most childhood diseases are spread through the air; being near an infected child suffices. And you need not visit Sierra Leone for exposure. A recent outbreak of measles in Germany involved several hundred children. Several died.
Before traveling overseas, please read TenTips: Children/vaccinations/travel
