From 21 to 27 April, European Immunization Week kicks off the yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI).

EPI is a global initiative launched in 1974 to disseminate information about the benefits of the essential vaccines recommended by WHO for everyone.

Turkmenistan, among many countries, joins the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the EPI.

WHO Representative in Turkmenistan Egor Zaitsev noted:

“For more than three decades, WHO and the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan have worked together to strengthen the national healthcare system. The EPI partnership has traditionally been a central element of this collaboration. Today, with the advisory and technical support of the WHO Country Office in Turkmenistan, the country guarantees everyone free vaccination against 14 infections as part of the national preventive vaccination calendar.”

According to national data, the population of Turkmenistan is covered by routine vaccination at a high level - 98%. Immunization in Turkmenistan has had a huge effect, eliminating such dangerous diseases as measles and rubella.

In 2016, Turkmenistan was one of the first to introduce vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), available to both girls and boys.

EPI has become one of the greatest public health successes of the 20th and 21st centuries, saving up to 5 million lives a year.