WHO and UNICEF call for action to protect children with vaccines

In 2024, 89% of infants worldwide – about 115 million – will have received at least one dose of a vaccine containing diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP), and 85% – about 109 million – will have completed the full three-dose course, according to new national immunization coverage data released today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.

Compared to 2023, about 171,000 more children received at least one vaccine, and one million more completed the full three-dose course of DTP. While modest, this increase shows continued progress by countries working to protect children, even as challenges grow.

Still, nearly 20 million infants missed at least one dose of a DTP-containing vaccine last year, including 14.3 million “zero doses” of children who did not receive a single dose of any vaccine. That’s 4 million more than the 2024 target needed to stay on track to meet the Immunization Agenda 2030 goals, and 1.4 million more than in 2019, the baseline year for measuring progress.

“Vaccines save lives, allowing individuals, families, communities, economies and nations to thrive. It is encouraging to see the number of children vaccinated continue to increase, although we still have much work to do. Drastic aid cuts, coupled with misinformation about vaccine safety, threaten to undo decades of progress. WHO remains committed to working with partners to support countries in developing local solutions and scaling up domestic investment to reach every child with the life-saving power of vaccines,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

Children often remain unvaccinated or under-vaccinated due to a combination of factors including limited access to immunization services, supply disruptions, conflict and instability, or misinformation about vaccines.

Access to vaccines remains deeply uneven

Data from 195 countries show that 131 countries have consistently achieved coverage of at least 90% of children with the first dose of DTP vaccine since 2019, but there has been no significant expansion of this group. Among countries that achieved less than 90% in 2019, only 17 have improved their rates over the past five years. Meanwhile, 47 countries have seen progress stall or worsen. This includes 22 countries that met and exceeded the 90% target in 2019 but have since declined.

Data shows that conflict and humanitarian crises can quickly undermine vaccination gains. A quarter of the world’s babies live in just 26 countries affected by fragility, conflict or humanitarian crises, and they account for half of all unvaccinated children globally. Alarmingly, in half of these countries, the number of unvaccinated children has increased dramatically from 3.6 million in 2019 to 5.4 million in 2024, highlighting the need to integrate immunization into humanitarian responses.

In low-income countries supported by Gavi, vaccination coverage improved last year, reducing the number of unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children by about 650,000. At the same time, there are signs of decline in middle- and high-income countries that previously maintained coverage of at least 90%. Even small declines could dramatically increase the risk of disease outbreaks and put additional strain on already overstretched health systems.

“The good news is that we are vaccinating more children. But millions of children are still unprotected from preventable diseases, and that should worry us all,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “We must act decisively now to overcome barriers such as shrinking health budgets, fragile health systems, and conflict-related misinformation and access restrictions. No child should die from a disease we know how to prevent.”

Expanding protection against vaccine-preventable diseases

Despite these challenges, countries – particularly those supported by Gavi – continue to introduce and scale up vaccines, including those against human papillomavirus (HPV), meningitis, pneumococcal disease, polio and rotavirus.

For example, large-scale national HPV vaccine rollout programmes and efforts to revitalise campaigns in countries where the vaccine had previously been introduced have contributed to a 4% increase in global coverage over the past year. In 2024, 31% of eligible adolescent girls received at least one dose of HPV vaccine – the majority of doses were administered in countries using the single-dose regimen. While still far from the 90% target by 2030, this coverage represents a significant increase from 17% in 2019.

“In 2024, low-income countries protected more children than ever before, and coverage rates increased for all Gavi-supported vaccines,” said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “But population growth, instability and conflict pose significant barriers to achieving equity, leaving the most vulnerable children and communities at risk. Continued commitment from governments and partners will be critical to saving lives and protecting the world from infectious disease threats.”

Measles vaccination coverage has also improved, with 84% of children receiving a first dose and 76% receiving a second dose, a slight increase from the previous year. In 2024, an additional 2 million children will be vaccinated, but overall coverage remains well below the 95% needed in every community to prevent outbreaks.

This means that more than 30 million children remain inadequately protected against measles, leading to larger and more devastating outbreaks. The number of countries experiencing large or devastating measles outbreaks has increased dramatically to 60 in 2024 – almost double the 33 countries in 2022.

The promise to protect every child is under threat

While public demand for vaccination remains high and protection against more diseases is expanding, recent estimates highlight a worrying trend. Lack of national and global funding, growing instability in the world, and increasing misinformation about vaccines threaten to halt or even reverse progress, leading to more severe illness and death from vaccine-preventable diseases.

WHO and UNICEF call on governments and relevant partners to:

• close the funding gap for Gavi's next strategic cycle (2026–2030) to protect millions of children in low-income countries and ensure global health security;
• strengthen immunization in conflict settings and fragile systems to reach more children who have not received a dose and prevent outbreaks of deadly diseases;
• prioritise locally-focused strategies and domestic investments, firmly integrating immunisation into primary health care systems to address inequalities;
• counter misinformation and increase vaccination coverage through evidence-based approaches;
• invest in better data and disease surveillance systems to deliver high-impact immunization programmes.