Healthcare (Commonwealth Union) – For the year 2023, global childhood immunization coverage stagnated, resulting in 2.7 million more children being under-vaccinated when contrasted to the year 2019, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. The latest WHO and UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC) – offering the most extensive dataset on immunization trends for 14 diseases – highlight the critical need for continued catch-up, recovery, and system-strengthening efforts.
As indicated in the data, the proportion of children who received three doses of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) vaccine last year which is an important indicator of immunization coverage across the world – remained steady at 84 percent (108 million). Meanwhile, the number of children that did not obtain even a single dose of the vaccine was elevated from 13.9 million in 2022 to 14.5 million last year.
Over half of these unvaccinated children reside in 31 countries experiencing fragility, conflict, and vulnerability, where children are particularly at risk of preventable diseases due to disruptions and limited access to security, nutrition, and healthcare services.
Additionally, 6.5 million children missed their third dose of the DTP vaccine, which is crucial for safeguarding them during infancy and early childhood.
These trends indicate that global immunization coverage has largely stagnated since 2022 and – more concerning – has yet to return to 2019 levels. They are an indication of the continuous problems like healthcare service disruptions, logistical challenges, vaccine hesitancy, as well as inequities in getting access to services as indicated in the data.
Vaccine hesitancy has largely been attributed by many as a result of the extreme measures taken during the pandemic, where many who were skeptical about vaccines and refused to take the vaccine faced penalties such as being removed from employment, travel restrictions. Many asking legitimate questions regarding the safety of some of the more recent vaccines were often attacked as conspiracy theorists and in many nations, individuals were pressured to take the Covid-19 vaccines while at the same time signing forms exempting vaccine manufactures of any damage. The extreme measures taken during the pandemic may have possibly impacted vaccines that have been in existence hence a more open discussion on vaccine usage and policy could be a positive step forward in dispelling vaccine hesitancy.
The data from the published report further indicate that vaccination rates against the deadly measles disease have stalled, leaving almost 35 million children with no or only partial protection.
Last year just 83 percent of children worldwide received their first dose of the measles vaccine through routine health services. Although the percentage of children receiving their second dose modestly increased from the previous year, it only reached 74 percent. These figures come up short of the 95 percent coverage required to prevent outbreaks, preventing unnecessary disease and deaths, as well as achieving the measles elimination goals.
The data also indicated that over the last five years, measles outbreaks have had an impact in 103 nations, which consist of roughly three-quarters of infants across the globe. Low vaccine coverage was revealed as a primary cause in contrast, 91 nations with strong measles vaccine coverage did go through any outbreaks.
“Measles outbreaks are the canary in the coalmine, exposing and exploiting gaps in immunization and hitting the most vulnerable first,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “This is a solvable problem. Measles vaccine is cheap and can be delivered even in the most difficult places. WHO is committed to working with all our partners to support countries to close these gaps and protect the most at-risk children as quickly as possible.”
Measles, a highly contagious viral disease, remains a significant global health threat despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. The disease, characterized by symptoms such as high fever, cough, runny nose, and a distinctive rash, can lead to severe complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis, and death. While progress has been made in reducing measles incidence through vaccination efforts, recent data indicate that vaccination rates have stalled, leaving millions of children vulnerable to this preventable disease.
