#Blogust 2015: Why You Need to Educate Yourself About Vaccinating Against Preventable Diseases to Help Kids in Developing Countries Around the World

Imagine if nearly half the children entering kindergarten in the U.S. this year died of preventable disease.

That’s how many children die each year in developing countries. 70% of all unvaccinated children live in just 10 developing countries that include India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, China, Uganda, Chad and Kenya. For these children, access to vaccines means the difference between life and death. A healthy life or a lifetime of struggle.  

When I first heard this statistic three years ago during my introduction to Shot@Life, I was startled. As a former classroom teacher it saddened me that so many children in developing nations never receive a chance to go to school because they die of preventable diseases. Imagine our kids never having the chance to go to school and harnessing the power of education. Heartbreaking.

As important as education is for children around the world, it’s also important for us to educate ourselves about the problem of kids not being vaccinated against preventable diseases. Being knowledgeable about the problem and how we can get involved is what will ultimately change the world.

About Shot@Life

Shot@Life builds on the UN Foundation’s partnership in global vaccine efforts as a leading partner in the Measles Initiative and Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The children served by this campaign seem a world away but they aren’t much different than the children in our own lives.

Why Shot@Life is Important to Kids Around the World

Taking a minute to educate yourselves on the facts provides you with the power to create meaningful change. Here’s are the shocking facts you need to know:

• 1 in 5 children do not have access to life-saving vaccines that we in the developed world can so easily take for granted.
• Every 20 seconds (approximately 1.5 million children each year) a child will die from a preventable disease — too often a disease that could have been prevented by an immunization.
• For $20 you can protect a child for a life from four diseases.
• Some moms walk 15 miles to reach life-saving vaccines for their children.

Sad and sobering yet there is a way to help every child grow up and have a shot at life and a shot at education.

With knowledge comes power and also responsibility to get involved.

Now that you know the issue, take some time to get involved in Shot@Life’s Blogust 2015—a month-long blog relay—where some of North America’s most beloved online writers, photo and video bloggers and Shot@Life Champions are coming together to share inspirational quotes for their children. Every time you comment on this post and other Blogust contributions, or take action using the social media on this website, Shot@Life and the United Nations Foundation pages, one vaccine will be donated to a child around the world (up to 50,000).

Looking for more ways to get involved in Shot@Life? Do any of these 6 things in 10 minutes or less:

• Spend 15 minutes reading posts by other bloggers and commenting in order to donate a vaccine. You can also share their posts via Twitter and Facebook and by using #Blogust or @ShotatLife during August, you’ll donate a vaccine for each of your social shares.
• Spare 10 minutes to learn more about Shot@Life by checking out their website
• Use 5 minutes to post to your social media channels about Shot@Life. When you use the #Blogust hashtag on any posts during the month of August, you’ve just donated a vaccine to a child in need
• Spend 15 seconds by following Shot@Life on Twitter or liking them on Facebook
• Take 5 seconds to pledge to speak up for children by adding your voice to the movement of people committed to reducing childhood deaths around the world
• Donate. Give what you can to invest in a healthier world. $5 protects a child from polio for life, $15 protects a child from pneumonia and diarrhea, and $20 is all it takes to protect a child from polio, pneumonia, measles, and diarrhea for life.

No compensation was received for this post.