At the start of 2024, more than 14 million children worldwide were unvaccinated or improperly vaccinated. This shocking statistic is the result of recent estimates released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. The overall prevalence of unprotected children hasn’t budged from last year. This test case reflects the real world context we are in as we advocate for global immunization.
Just nine countries account for over half of all unvaccinated children. Nigeria, India, Sudan, Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Angola represent 52% of the children who are un- or under-immunized. The ravages of COVID-19, racial discrimination, social inequality, and structural problems with their healthcare system further complicate matters.
The WHO and UNICEF shared some bright spots amidst the troubling numbers. As of 2024, about 89% of children less than one year old get their first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough vaccines. About 85% of children finished the three-dose series, up from 84% in 2023. Yet these numbers tell a clear public health story—vaccine inequity continues to run deep. Consequently, gaps in immunity put our vulnerable populations at risk.
Without vaccines, between 3.5 million to 5 million people would die every year. Health officials long have warned about dismal measles vaccine rates. To optimally protect us from outbreaks of this very contagious disease, these rates need to be at least 95%. Latest figures show that less than 84% of children in the U.K. are immunised. At the same time, Europe saw a record 125,000 measles cases in 2024, more than twice as many as the year before.
This acute crisis has been made much worse by the political choices that have impacted global health diplomacy. Former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the WHO and froze almost all U.S. humanitarian aid. His administration even proposed closing the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This unilateral action caused widespread alarm over the potential loss of direct funding for important public health initiatives. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pulled back billions of dollars that the US had already promised to the vaccines alliance Gavi.
Experts have repeatedly warned us that these losses could trigger a new series of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Helen Bradford, a professor of children’s health at University College London, expressed her concerns regarding the ongoing crisis:
“Drastic cuts in aid, coupled with misinformation about the safety of vaccines, threaten to unwind decades of progress.”
Experts warn that these setbacks could lead to further outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Helen Bradford, a professor of children’s health at University College London, expressed her concerns regarding the ongoing crisis:
“It is hugely concerning, but not at all surprising, that we are continuing to see outbreaks of measles.”
