Real heroes for our kids today

In cinema, we control how we tell our story, whether it’s making our heroes larger-than-life or our villains charmingly suave. We’ve all been smitten with the beautiful excesses of cinema. But reality is different — here, stories don’t always end the way we want them to.

Take for instance, the health of our children. Today, insidious villains in the form of deadly infectious diseases — pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles, whooping cough, and others — are killing millions of children around the world. In India, preventable diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia alone still kill nearly three lakh children before the age of five — more than anywhere else in the world.

But we have the power to change this story.

Enter aaj ke real heroes — vaccines. One of the most important medical innovations known to humanity, vaccines save an estimated 2-3 million lives globally every year. These heroes don’t announce themselves the way heroes in cinemas do. But together, they have managed to eradicate smallpox from the world, and make India free of polio and maternal and neonatal tetanus. They have reduced child deaths, and prevented disability and countless hardships.

What’s more, vaccines make heroes out of all of us. How do they do this? Vaccines work by showing our body how to recognise deadly viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. That way, if we come in contact with these germs, our immune systems immediately recognise the threat and attack quickly to prevent disease. The more people get vaccinated, the more difficult it becomes for the disease to spread. This, in turn, means children are healthier, tend to perform better in school, and miss fewer days due to illness. Children grow up strong and ready to enter the workforce, helping to expand our economy.

Something I have always enjoyed about working in films is the way cinema brings people together, no matter where they are from. The same can be said about vaccines because they ensure that children get the right to a healthy life, no matter where they are born. In a country like ours, income levels vary vastly and often underprivileged families are the worst affected in terms of health and are least able to afford expensive treatment, hospitalisations, and medicine. By preventing the root cause of these costs — diseases —  vaccines save families from being pushed into poverty because of illness. And, by providing these life-saving vaccines free under our national immunisation programme, the government ensures that every child can access them, especially those that would otherwise have been quite expensive in the private market.

Unfortunately, while Indian movie stars receive accolades and adoring crowds for their films, there are too few people who celebrate the success of vaccines, and the unsung heroes — health workers and others — who work behind the scenes to make sure that our children receive these vaccines. Many people today are still unaware of the benefits of immunisation. Some even have misconceptions about these amazing interventions, even though vaccines are very safe, highly effective and go through rigorous scientific testing before they are introduced in our country. And in today’s age of social media, it’s easy for us to fall prey to all kinds of misinformation that are circulated on the Internet. When we believe these false rumours, we leave our children vulnerable to potentially fatal diseases.

As an actor, I know that the success of a film is ultimately determined by its audience, no matter what the naysayers might say. While the government has made considerable efforts to introduce new and critical vaccines in our country, the success of the public health programme ultimately depends on its audience — the public. People like you and me.

The government has set an ambitious target that 90 per cent of the country’s children receive all the vaccines as part of the national programme by the end of this year. But to make this possible, we have to come together, not just celebrities and public health experts, but you, the audience. You must bring your children to the centres where these vaccines are being given, ensure you don’t miss doses on the schedule, and, most importantly, spread the message.

This message is simple. Today, a child in our country still dies every two minutes due to pneumonia or diarrhoea. Both of these diseases can be prevented in part by vaccines, and these vaccines are now being introduced across the country. We need to raise public awareness about safety and benefits of vaccines and dispel myths and misinformation. And, ultimately, government and communities need to increase access so that every child is within reach of these life-saving interventions. Unless we come together and take it upon ourselves to educate and inform others, our children will continue to be at risk.

This World Immunisation Week, it’s time we all raised our voice to talk about the real heroes: the ones that protect our children and impact the health and well-being of our entire community. Accelerating immunisation efforts — not just this week, but for the whole year — is the best way to ensure that our children live happily ever after — just like the movies promise.

The writer is an actor. Views are personal.