The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the global vaccine alliance Gavi issued a joint statement during World Immunization Week (24–30 April) warning that increasing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases are increasingly threatening decades of progress in immunization.
Vaccination is one of the most effective methods of combating disease and preventing death. According to WHO estimates, global vaccination campaigns over the past half-century have saved the lives of at least 154 million people, equivalent to six lives lost every minute. Optimal vaccine development, implementation, and adequate coverage could reduce antibiotic use by 22 percent, or 2.5 billion daily doses annually. However, the current state of immunization is poor.
As emphasized in the joint statement, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, meningitis, and yellow fever, are spreading worldwide. Cases of infections that had been virtually eradicated in many countries, such as whooping cough and diphtheria, are also increasing. According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, this threat is largely driven by declining healthcare funding, with treatment for such diseases and outbreak containment measures being far more costly than vaccination. Misinformation, population growth, and humanitarian crises also contribute.
The situation with measles is particularly dire, as immunization rates have declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of cases in 2023 increased by 20 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 10.3 million. These cases have occurred in 138 countries, with 61 of them reporting serious outbreaks. Meningitis and yellow fever cases are also rising sharply, primarily on the African continent, with four outbreaks of the latter reported in the WHO Region of the Americas since the beginning of the year.
Moreover, a recent analysis of 108 countries with UNICEF offices showed that funding cuts have seriously disrupted vaccine supply and administration chains in almost half of them. As UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell noted, in 2023, 14.5 million children worldwide will not have received all the vaccinations they are supposed to, significantly more than in previous years. Most of these children live in countries experiencing instability or armed conflict.
Amid these challenges, WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi continue to work to increase vaccine access through primary health care systems. Each year, these vaccines prevent approximately 4.2 million deaths from 14 infections. Meningitis A has been virtually eradicated in the so-called meningitis belt. In the African region, where cervical cancer rates are highest globally, human papillomavirus vaccination coverage increased from 21 to 40 percent between 2020 and 2023. Global pneumococcal vaccination coverage has also increased. A separate achievement was the regional introduction of malaria vaccination in 20 African countries, with Cameroon being the first.
In conclusion, the organizations called on parents, the public, and politicians to increase their support for immunization. They noted that this measure remains the best investment in health, ultimately generating 54 times more funding than it incurs. Gavi's current primary goal is to raise $9 billion to fund a campaign to vaccinate 500 million children and save at least eight million lives between 2026 and 2030.
Previously, WHO experts conducted an assessment across all regions of the world and compiled a list of 17 infectious agents for which the development and implementation of vaccines is a top priority.
