This Friday, April 24th starts World Immunization Week. This year’s campaign focuses on closing the immunization gap and reaching equity in immunization levels as outlined in the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP). The Plan ? endorsed by the 194 Member States of the World Health Assembly in May 2012 ? is a framework to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through universal access to vaccines for people in all communities.

To learn more about World Immunization Week, click here.

On our end, the M&RP wanted to highlight the successes of the past year through individual stories. Such as the story of Josephine, a mother of five, who lives in Cotonou, Benin.

The American Red Cross, as part of the Measles & Rubella Partnership, supported a measles vaccination campaign in Benin in November 2014. Some 1,000 Benin Red Cross volunteers went door to door in three different cities to encourage mothers and fathers to vaccinate their children. In all, more than 3 million children were vaccinated as part of the campaign. In this short video, we follow mother Josephine as she takes her children to get vaccinated after Benin Red Cross Volunteer Francoise tells her about the campaign as part of these door to door efforts.

At just $1 per shot, the measles vaccination is one of the most cost effective global health interventions. Donate here.

This post is part of the #ProtectingKids blog series. Read the whole series here.