Global childhood vax coverage stalled in 2023
2.7 million kids unprotected, says UN
More than half of unvaccinated children live in the 31 countries with fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable settings, where children are especially vulnerable to preventable diseases
NEW DELHI: Global childhood vaccination coverage stalled in 2023, leaving an estimated 2.7 million children more un- and under-vaccinated compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to the UN on Monday.
Warning of an alarming coverage gap that has led to an outbreak of diseases like malaria, the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) estimates of national immunisation coverage (WUENIC) said about 14.5 million children failed to get vaccinated in 2023, compared with 13.9 million a year earlier.
However, the number was lower than during the COVID-19 pandemic, when about 18 million children missed out on vaccination.
The report highlighted that more children were left out of critical vaccination drives for diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough in 2023.
The reason is that conflicts across the globe have stalled the supply of life-saving vaccines to mostly fragile and conflict-affected regions.
According to the findings, the number of children who received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) in 2023—a key marker for global immunisation coverage—stalled at 84%, or 108 million.
However, the number of children who did not receive a single dose of the vaccine increased from 13.9 million in 2022 to 14.5 million in 2023.
Comments are closed.