14,3 Million Children Miss Vital Vaccines

Rutendo Mazhindu - ZimNow Reporter

At least 14,3 million children across the globe were not vaccinated at all in 2024, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF warning that millions of children are being left behind despite progress in immunisation coverage.

A total of 20 million children missed life-saving vaccines last year, according to latest data from the WHO and UNICEF Estimates of National Immunisation Coverage (WUENIC), raising concern among global health authorities over growing inequalities in access to routine childhood immunisation.

The organisations said although global immunisation coverage for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) slightly increased from 84 percent in 2023 to 85 percent last year — translating to 109 million infants — a significant number remain completely unprotected.

UNICEF Deputy Director and Chief Statistician Mr João Pedro Azevedo said the number of zero-dose children, who did not receive even a single vaccine, reflected disturbing gaps in health systems.

“Although we are seeing improvement, the fact that 14,3 million children remain completely unvaccinated should be a red flag for global health systems,” he said.

“We cannot afford to be complacent. Equity must remain at the heart of immunisation strategies.”

UNICEF Associate Director for Health and Chief of Immunisation Dr Ephrem Lemango said the situation was dire in countries facing conflict and instability.

“Half of all unvaccinated children live in just 26 countries affected by fragility, conflict or humanitarian crises,” he said.

“In 13 of these, the number of unvaccinated children has increased over the past five years. These are not just numbers, they represent lives at risk.”

WHO and UNICEF attributed the growing number of zero-dose children to slow progress in reaching marginalised communities — a key target under the Immunisation Agenda 2030 which seeks to reduce the number of unvaccinated children by half.

They also warned that vaccine coverage is beginning to fall in middle-income countries that no longer receive funding support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, while some upper-middle and high-income countries are witnessing declining uptake due to misinformation and funding cuts.

“Funding shortfalls, misinformation, and global instability threaten the progress made,” the organisations said.

Governments and global health stakeholders have been urged to prioritise immunisation financing and ensure vulnerable populations, particularly those in crisis-affected areas, are not left behind.

The agencies are also encouraging countries to use newly developed dashboards, datasets and regional profiles to strengthen evidence-based decision-making and accelerate immunisation progress.

WUENIC remains the most comprehensive data source for global immunisation trends and is a critical tool used to track progress towards international health goals.