Overview

• Nearly half of low- and lower-middle-income countries face severe disruptions to vaccination campaigns due to global aid funding cuts, led by the United States.
• Outbreaks of measles, meningitis, and yellow fever are sharply rising, with measles cases increasing by 20% to 10.3 million in 2023 and meningitis deaths spiking in Africa.
• An estimated 14.5 million children missed all routine vaccine doses in 2023, with numbers expected to worsen in conflict-affected and fragile regions.
• The World Health Organization, UNICEF, and Gavi are urging donors to meet a $9 billion funding goal at Gavi's June pledging summit to protect 500 million children and save 8 million lives by 2030.
• Misinformation, population growth, and humanitarian crises are compounding challenges to immunization, jeopardizing decades of progress in disease prevention.