-by Michael Sheldrick, Global Policy and Advocacy Manager

Last week, I got the chance to do something amazing: I handed over 13,000 petition signatures calling on the UN to prioritize immunization directly to the President of the UN General Assembly himself, Vuk Jeremic.

Our CEO Hugh Evans spoke to Mr Jeremic about the importance of ensuring every child is fully immunized and, to our great delight, he offered to take our message to the working group who will decide the shape of the UN's post-2015 development goals.

"I welcomed the opportunity to hear about the issues Global Citizens have been campaigning on and will make sure your voices get heard,” he said. “With energetic leadership and the full support of the United Nations system, we should seize the generational opportunity, and craft a global framework to ensure that our children inherit a planet where no nation is left behind."

As the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals draws nearer, UN leaders are set to meet this September to consider their post-2015 development priorities. This was an importance chance to convince the UN that immunization should be at the top of the list – whether that’s to protect against polio or other easily preventable, yet deadly, diseases.

But keep the petition signatures coming. It will take more than just one meeting to make real progress on this issue. So sign our petition and learn more about why vaccines are so important.