Efforts to vaccinate children globally have been hindered by conflicts, health leaders caution, with approximately 14.5 million children not having received any immunisation as per recent data. More than half of these children reside in nations affected by armed conflicts or humanitarian crises, creating fragile and vulnerable conditions, according to UNICEF and WHO.
In Sudan, the number of unvaccinated children surged dramatically due to ongoing conflicts, reaching an estimated 701,000 in the past year from 110,000 in 2021. Yemen similarly saw an increase to 580,000 unvaccinated children from 424,000 three years ago.
In addition to the 14.5 million children with no vaccination in 2023, 6.5 million children were under-vaccinated, not having received all recommended doses. Both figures show an increase from 2022, underscoring the challenge in meeting the international goal of halving the number of zero-dose children by 2030.
Dr Katherine O’Brien from WHO’s immunisation department warned that these conditions endanger the most vulnerable children’s lives, particularly in humanitarian settings where lack of security, nutrition, and healthcare increase the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Global vaccine coverage has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels of 2019, with over half of the world’s zero-dose children concentrated in ten countries facing challenges of large birth cohorts or weak health systems, including Nigeria, India, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Indonesia, Sudan, Yemen, and Afghanistan joined this list in 2023, reflecting their own health system challenges exacerbated by conflict and crisis.
Douglas Hageman, representing UNICEF in Sudan, highlighted the devastating impact of war on the country’s health system, with national vaccination coverage dropping sharply. Rates have plummeted to around 50%, and in conflict zones like South Darfur, they can be as low as 8%.
In Yemen, Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s representative, noted alarmingly low vaccination rates, worsened by barriers such as limited healthcare access, vaccine hesitancy, and socio-political crises.
Dr. O’Brien emphasized that misinformation, particularly prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to contribute to vaccine hesitancy and deaths in many countries.
Despite some progress, the report stressed the need for broader adoption of vaccines like the HPV vaccine to combat diseases such as cervical cancer in countries where it remains unimplemented, including China and India.
