Europe: Fears of new health epidemics worsened by vaccination cost

Delegates at the Gastein Health Forum have been told that measles and rubella are "raging" throughout Europe, with a lack of funding making the situation worse.

The Gastein Health Forum (EHFG) is the leading health policy event in the EU, which takes place annually.

During a workshop at the policymakers' forum on 5 October, Austrian MEP Karin Kadenbach said that "measles and rubella are once again raging in Europe".

As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) has had to put back its goal of conquering these diseases to 2015, five years later than previously hoped.

The struggle to curtail the spread of these diseases is due to vaccination rates falling short in the 53 countries of the WHO European region. According to Kadenbach's estimation, measles viruses could be prevented from circulating if 95% of the population were inoculated.

Instead, recent studies show that the number of measles cases in the EU has risen by a factor of four between 2010 and 2011.

Costs are also proving a factor in preventing many from getting vaccinated, as the example of flu vaccinations has shown. Countries which spent the least on subsidising seasonal flu vaccination also had the lowest coverage rates. Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland had the lowest coverage in Europe.

The internet is also proving to be a hindrance to vaccinations, with misinformation regarding the safety of vaccinations spreading via social media.

World Bank health expert Armin Fidler told delegates that there is evidence which shows that immunisations are among the most cost-effective public health interventions, but falling healthcare budgets are challenging them.

Fidler recommended an approach to vaccinations seen in many developing countries. "Even in many low-to-middle-income countries, those responsible for public budgets are not only prepared to waive contributions to immunisation, they literally pay people to take part in order to boost the vaccination rate," he said.

In countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Turkey, some social services such as school-fees are linked to vaccinations. Fidler advises that if such programmes "pay off", they should be encouraged elsewhere.

Kadenbach has called for a joint European initiative that brings in health experts and decision-makers to give more political support for vaccination programmes

(sumber : egovmonitor.com)