Linda Elsner, Writer/Editor, Global Immunization Division.
Acclaimed illustrator Sophie Blackall visited us at CDC on Monday, April 22, to share insights from her extraordinary collaboration with the Measles & Rubella Initiative. Her presentation at the World Immunization Week symposium, “Let Every Child Have a Name: the Road to a World Without Measles,” described her journey to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where she met and spoke with families and health workers affected by measles.
Alan Bethel, District Governor 2011-2012 District 18A Georgia Lions (Lions Clubs International), and his wife Carole, with Illustrator Sophie Blackall at CDC’s Measles/Rubella Day during World Immunization Week 2013. Photo courtesy of Mark Fletcher/CDC
Clearly touched by her experiences while traveling with a vaccination team in May 2012, Blackall described how she used her camera to record detailed images of the people and immunization activities in remote villages that later inspired her artwork.
“I was completely blown away by these volunteers,” she told the audience of CDC employees and more than 60 invited guests from Lions Club International Foundation and the American Red Cross; both organizations are some of our partners in the Measles & Rubella Initiative, which commissioned Blackall’s work. “It’s impossible not to want to save all of [the children]. I’m so in awe of the work you all do…. My role in this is to tell your story—and it’s an honor and a privilege to do it.”
Sophie Blackall, Illustrator, Measles & Rubella Initiative, presented her work done after joining vaccinators on a measles campaign in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo courtesy of Mark Fletcher/CDC
Our guests had an opportunity to tour the CDC Museum and visit the SHARE gift shop before the symposium, which also included remarks from Mr. Haynes Townsend, Past International Director, Lion’s Club International Foundation; Mr. Ruben L.C. Brown, a media specialist at the American Red Cross; our own Dr. Lisa Cairns, who provided a global update on the elimination of measles and rubella; and Mr. Harold Brooks, Senior Vice President for Global Programs, American Red Cross, who summed everything up by saying, “This initiative has magic to it.”
Following the presentations, we enjoyed an exhibition of Blackall’s delightful illustrations at a reception in the Tom Harkin Global Communications Center, with refreshments generously provided by the CDC Foundation.
What’s next for this talented artist? A visit to India to accompany UNICEF staff on vaccination campaigns is already on her agenda, and after that she hopes to start working on an interactive project designed to renew U.S. parents’ “sense of urgency” about and commitment to childhood immunization right here at home. We can hardly wait!
Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Tabu Collins, a Medical Epidemiologist for the Kenyan Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MOPHS). Tabu told me about his journey to becoming an epidemiologist and the public health challenges and successes in Kenya. Every day he sees the power of vaccines, not only to save but also to transform lives, giving children in Kenya an opportunity to grow up healthy, go to school, and live long productive lives.
