Over 14m children unvaccinated globally – UN report
About 14.3 million infants worldwide did not receive a single vaccine in 2024. This is according to the new national immunisation coverage data released on Tuesday by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The report said in 2024, 89 percent of infants globally, about 115 million, received at least […]
About 14.3 million infants worldwide did not receive a single vaccine in 2024.
This is according to the new national immunisation coverage data released on Tuesday by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The report said in 2024, 89 percent of infants globally, about 115 million, received at least one dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP)-containing vaccine, and 85 percent roughly 109 million completed all three doses.
The joint data said: “Compared to 2023, around 171,000 more children received at least one vaccine, and one million more completed the full three-dose DTP series.
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“While the gains are modest, they signal continued progress by countries working to protect children, even amid growing challenges.
“Still, nearly 20 million infants missed at least one dose of DTP-containing vaccine last year, including 14.3 million ‘zero-dose’ children who never received a single dose of any vaccine.
“That’s 4 million more than the 2024 target needed to stay on track with Immunisation Agenda 2030 goals, and 1.4 million more than in 2019, the baseline year for measuring progress.”
UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, said: “Millions of children remain without protection against preventable diseases, and that should worry us all. We must act now with determination to overcome barriers like shrinking health budgets, fragile health systems along with misinformation and access constraints because of conflicts.”
Russell stressed that “no child should die from a disease we know how to prevent.”
The WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said, “Vaccines save lives, allowing individuals, families, communities, economies and nations to flourish.
“It’s encouraging to see a continued increase in the number of children being vaccinated, although we still have a lot of work to do. Drastic cuts in aid, coupled with misinformation about the safety of vaccines, threaten to unwind decades of progress.”