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2mo ago

Global Childhood Vaccination Plateaus With 14.3 Million Zero-Dose Children

Funding cuts coupled with misinformation threaten to reverse modest immunization gains, prompting WHO and UNICEF to demand targeted efforts to reach unvaccinated children.

A young child receives the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine in Texas.
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in Karachi, Pakistan, on January 8, 2024.
A health worker marks the gate of a house visited as part of a vaccination campaign against polio in Nigeria.
A little girl reacts after receiving an oral vaccine during a vaccination drive for diphtheria, influenza, tetanus and pneumococcus, after several new cases of diphtheria were identified, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues, in Lima, Peru November 7, 2020. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Overview

  • Global immunization progress stalled in 2024, with 14.3 million children receiving no routine vaccines.
  • Half of all zero-dose children live in 26 conflict-affected countries where unvaccinated rates are triple those in stable settings, and nine high-burden nations account for 52% of this cohort.
  • Coverage for the DTP vaccine held at 89% for a first dose and 85% for the full series, while measles immunization remained below the 95% threshold at 84% for dose one and 76% for dose two.
  • HPV vaccine uptake climbed to 31% for a first dose among eligible adolescent girls in 2024, marking a steady but insufficient rise toward elimination goals.
  • WHO and UNICEF warn that funding shortfalls and surging vaccine misinformation threaten Immunization Agenda 2030 targets and call for renewed domestic and international investment, including Gavi’s 2026–2030 funding cycle.