UN: ‘Children’s vaccinations around the world are stagnating, putting millions of children at risk’

A recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) found that Global childhood immunization rates have been stagnating since 2023. This will result in 2.7 million more children remaining unvaccinated or undervaccinated compared to 2019.

Lack of progress in childhood vaccination coverage exposes millions of children to preventable diseases, causing alarming outbreaks of measles around the world.

Increasing childhood vaccination rates requires a global effort

Recent estimates of national immunization coverage based on the dataset highlight there is an urgent need for continued global efforts to restore, renew and strengthen health systems.

Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, said:

Closing the immunization gap requires a global effort in which governments, partners and local leaders invest in primary health care and community workers to ensure that all children are vaccinated and that health systems are strengthened overall.

Children around the world suffer from preventable diseases due to lack of vaccinations

In 2023, only 84% of children received all three doses of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccine, a key indicator of global immunization. The number of children who have not received any doses increased from 13.9 million in 2022 to 14.5 million in 2023.

More than half of these children are unvaccinated They live in 31 countries affected by conflict. and conditions of extreme vulnerability.

On the other hand, measles vaccination coverage also shows worrying signs: nearly 35 million children have not received their first or second dose vaccine needed to prevent this deadly disease.

Low vaccination coverage already caused measles outbreaks in 103 countries, which affects three quarters of the world’s babies.

“Measles outbreaks warning sign indicating deficiencies in immunization and exploits them, affecting the most vulnerable populations first,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

HPV vaccination is the only encouraging figure

The only encouraging indicator is the increase in coverage of adolescent girls with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination.

Proportion of girls who received at least one dose of HPV vaccine increased from 20% in 2022 to 27% in 2023, i.e.largely driven by the rollout in countries supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nigeria.

“The HPV vaccine is one of the most effective vaccines in Gavi’s portfolio. It’s incredibly inspiring that this issue is reaching more girls now than ever before.said Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi.

Despite these achievements, HPV vaccination coverage remains well below the 90% target needed to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem. only 56% of adolescent girls in high-income countries and 23% in low-income countries and the media that received the vaccine.

Finally, UNICEF noted that in a world where immunization can prevent the death and illness of millions of children, The stagnation in news coverage is a worrying signal for the global community.

It is vital that governments, international organisations and civil society work together to close these gaps and ensure that no child is left behind.