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GENEVA: Emergency vaccination during outbreaks of diseases like cholera, Ebola and measles have over the past quarter-century reduced deaths from such illnesses by nearly 60 percent, according to a new study.

A similar number of infections are also believed to have been prevented, while billions of euros have been generated in estimated economic benefit.
The Gavi vaccine alliance, which backed the study, said it collaborated with researchers at Burnet Institute in Australia to provide the world’s first look at the historical impact of emergency immunization efforts on public health and global health security.

“For the first time, we are able to comprehensively quantify the benefit, in human and economic terms, of deploying vaccines against outbreaks of some of the deadliest infectious diseases,” Gavi chief Sania Nishtar said in a statement.
“This study demonstrates clearly the power of vaccines as a cost-effective countermeasure to the increasing risk the world faces from outbreaks.”
The study, published this week in the British Medical Journal Global Health, examined 210 outbreaks of five infectious diseases — cholera, Ebola, measles, meningitis and yellow fever — in 49 lower-income countries between 2000 and 2023.
Vaccine roll-outs in these settings had a dramatic impact, with the study showing they reduced both the number of infections and deaths by almost 60 percent across the five diseases.
For some of the diseases the effect was far more dramatic.
Vaccination was shown to decrease deaths during yellow fever outbreaks by a full 99 percent, and 76 percent for Ebola.
At the same time, emergency vaccination significantly reduced the threat of outbreaks expanding.
It also estimated that the immunization efforts carried out during the 210 outbreaks generated nearly $32 billion in economic benefits just from averting deaths and years of life lost to disability.
That amount was however likely to be a significant underestimate of overall savings, it said, pointing out that it did not take into account outbreak response costs or the social and macro-economic impacts of disruptions created by large outbreaks.
The massive Ebola outbreak that hit West Africa in 2014, before the existence of approved vaccines, for instance saw cases pop up worldwide and is estimated to have cost the West African countries alone more than $53 billion.
The study comes after the WHO warned in April that outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, meningitis, and yellow fever are on the rise globally amid misinformation and cuts to international aid.
Gavi, which helps vaccinate more than half the world’s children against infectious diseases, is itself currently trying to secure a fresh round of funding in the face of the global aid cuts and after Washington last month announced it would stop backing the group.

LONDON: A group of nearly 60 British Labour politicians have called on the UK government to immediately recognize a Palestinian state, following alarming developments in Gaza and controversial remarks from Israel’s defense minister, .

In a letter sent to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Thursday, the cross-section of MPs, spanning both centrist and left-wing factions, accused Israel of ethnic cleansing in Gaza and demanded urgent action to prevent the forcible transfer of Palestinian civilians to a camp in the ruins of Rafah.

“It is with great urgency and concern that we are writing to you regarding the Israeli defense minister’s announcement on Monday of his plans to forcibly transfer all Palestinian civilians in Gaza to a camp in the ruined city of Rafah without allowing them to leave,” the MPs wrote.

Citing a prominent Israeli human rights lawyer, they continued: “The defense minister’s plans have been described by a leading Israeli human rights lawyer, Michael Sfard, as ‘an operational plan for crimes against humanity. It’s about population transfer to the southern tip of Gaza in preparation for deportation outside the strip.’

“Though an accurate description, we believe there is a clearer one. The ethnic cleansing of Gaza,” they added.

The letter, organized by Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, was signed by 59 MPs, including group co-chairs Sarah Owen and Andrew Pakes, as well as Liam Byrne, chair of the business and trade select committee.

Other prominent signatories include Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Stella Creasy, Clive Lewis, Diane Abbott and Dawn Butler.

The MPs outlined five key demands to ministers, some of which are in line with existing UK policy, such as continued funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency and efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas.

However, other recommendations are likely to stir political debate.

These include imposing a trade blockade on Israeli settlements in the West Bank and granting immediate recognition to Palestine as a sovereign state.

“By not recognizing (Palestine) as a state, we undermine our own policy of a two-state solution and set an expectation that the status quo can continue and see the effective erasure and annexation of Palestinian territory,” the MPs warned.

The UK government has previously indicated that it supports recognition of a Palestinian state “at the point of maximum impact,” as part of a broader peace process in coordination with international allies.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office reiterated this position: “We are committed to recognizing a Palestinian state and to doing so when (it) will have most impact in support of a peace process.”

The Labour MPs’ intervention comes just days after French President Emmanuel Macron issued a similar call during his state visit to the UK.

Speaking alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Macron stressed the need for an unconditional ceasefire and momentum toward recognition.

“Calling today for a ceasefire in Gaza without any condition is telling the rest of the world that for us as Europeans, there is no double standard. As we are attached to human lives, as we are attached to territorial integrity, we want the ceasefire, no discussion,” Macron said.

“Today, working together in order to recognize the state of Palestine and to initiate this political momentum is the only path to peace,” he added.

This is the second letter sent by Labour MPs in recent weeks calling for immediate recognition of Palestine, but the first time the signatories have made their names public. A previous letter also included some parliamentary aides and junior ministers.