Some people believe that vaccines are unsafe for children, and not all those people are Jenny McCarthy. In parts of Africa, according to the Vice TV website, traditional voodoo healers are more prevalent than traditional Western physicians. And even though they have never heard of discredited autism researcher Andrew Wakefield, some voodoo practitioners of West African country Benin have proposed a connection between childhood vaccinations and "the evil eye."
That connection, like the link between Clairol Nice 'n Easy Butterscotch Boom and a raised IQ, may be factual. The trouble is, Benin's children are dying so young of preventable diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia that control groups don't live long enough to prove the evil eye hypothesis true.
The problem has not escaped the notice of Vice magazine's documentary arm and ONE, the anti-poverty organization cofounded by Irish sunglass fanatic Bono. ONE and Vice visited Benin, befriended the local medical wizards—Western and voodoo—and came home with a feature-length film, Vaccines in the Land of Voodoo. (A trailer is above.)
If the trailer is a true indication, the movie is tracked with the kind of pulse-quickening musical beats that make a person want to stand up and do something helpful.
For starters, sign the petition supporting two proven vaccines that can stop diarrhea and pneumonia. Give kids a chance to grow up and enjoy all the advantages that a life with the evil eye can give.
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