It’s no secret that I love books. The only thing I love more than books is kids. As a mother and an educator I’ve dedicated my life to kids and keeping them safe, happy, and healthy. That’s why I partnered with Shot@Life and am proud to say I am a 2014 Shot@Life Champion!
Earlier in March I traveled to Washington DC and learned to become a global vaccination lobbyist. I am completely comfortable discussing diarrhea and you may have seen me discuss it in tweets, Facebook posts, on the radio, or in real life. I’m all about diarrhea!
Why? Think about it: as a mother, I want the best health for my children. When they are sick, you’d move heaven and earth to make them well. I think all moms around the world feel this way. So, what do you do when your child has Rotavirus and diarrhea? Well, you take them to the doctor and eventually they get better. You don’t have to worry about your child dying, yes DYING from dehydration caused by diarrhea. That’s unheard of, right?
Not even close in developing countries. Imagine being a mother and watching your baby die from malnutrition and dehydration. They can’t just run to the nearest doctor’s office. That clinic might be 12 miles away. On foot.
But you know what? It’s totally preventable. By vaccines. Did you know:
Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea among infants and young children.
- Each year, more than half a million children under age five die as a result of rotavirus, and almost 2 million more become severely ill.
- In July 2011, Sudan became the first GAVI-eligible African country to roll out the rotavirus vaccine. GAVI will support the introduction of rotavirus vaccine in more than 40 countries by 2015. GAVI aims to focus its support on the world’s poorest countries. GAVI-eligibility is therefore determined by national income.
This is the kind of information I learned while attending the Shot@Life Summit in DC. BTW, GAVI stands for Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations. Groups like this and the UN Foundation work to educate people and to get necessary vaccines into the hands of the countries that need it the most.
A sick child can’t read, can they? If they’re dehydrated from diarrhea there’s no way they can focus on much else except getting better. That’s where I come in! I want to spread the word that vaccines are important to child health and vaccines don’t cause Autism.
Let me repeat that.
VACCINES. DON’T. CAUSE. AUTISM.
Vaccines don’t cause Autism.
Vaccines don’t cause Autism.
Every child needs a chance to enjoy the things that children need to grow up. Like reading a book. They can’t do that if they are sick. Or dying.
But I can make a difference. And so can you.
Wanna talk about diarrhea? Hit me up on Twitter with the hashtag #vaccineswork and join the conversation. I’m HAPPY to talk about diarrhea!
And how to eradicate it from the world. Think of me as the MoJoJo of diarrhea. Er, you know what I mean.