In May the Humanitarian Services Division of the Church announced that immunizations will join the ranks of the other major humanitarian initiatives—clean water, emergency response, food production, neonatal resuscitation training, vision care, and wheelchairs.

According to Fred Riley, manager of immunizations and special projects for LDS Humanitarian Services, this change means more emphasis on and more funding for the initiative.

Although Church leaders recognized the importance of immunizations more than 30 years ago (read a 1978 First Presidency letter, “Immunize Children, Leaders Urge”), only in the last decade has immunization been a focus of the Church’s Welfare Department.