UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) have reported that global childhood immunisation rates continued to recover, but millions of children remain unprotected against life-threatening diseases as conflict, poverty, fragile health systems and vaccine hesitancy continue to undermine decades of public health progress.
According to the recent WHO-UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC), 90% of infants worldwide or over 116 million children received at least one dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) vaccine by 2025.
Moreover, around 110 million children, or 85 percent of infants, completed the prescribed three-dose schedule, a little increase of one percentage point over the previous year.
Despite these developments, global vaccine coverage has failed to reach to pre-pandemic levels, with numbers one percentage point lower than in 2019.
According to the data, 13.5 million children were classified as “zero-dose” children in 2025 because they did not receive any standard vaccinations during their first year of life. International health organizations caution that progress is still much too slow to reach global immunization targets, despite the fact that this represents about 750,000 fewer children than in 2024.
Another concerning pattern also surfaced at the same time. The first DTP dosage was administered to an estimated 7.3 million infants who started their vaccination regimens, but they did not finish the subsequent shots, including the first measles vaccine.
According to the report, just 84% of children worldwide received their first dose of the measles-containing vaccination, with 77% completing the required second dosage. Both values are significantly below the 95% coverage required to avert large epidemics.
The ramifications are already being felt. At least 57 nations reported significant or disruptive measles outbreaks in 2025, highlighting the risks of falling vaccination coverage and gaps in routine immunization services.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell stated that “governments and health workers have helped global vaccination rates bounce back after dropping significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“But millions of vulnerable children are still being left unprotected due to conflict, displacement, and poverty.
“We must reach every child, and we must rebuild trust where it is fraying. No child should suffer from a disease that a simple vaccine can prevent.”
Catherine Russell
The report also found that vaccination progress varies significantly across regions. South-East Asia and the Americas have recovered to, or exceeded, their pre-pandemic performance, with South-East Asia now recording the strongest immunisation coverage globally.
Africa, Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean also registered improvements during 2025 but remain below their 2019 vaccination levels. By contrast, the Western Pacific region experienced further declines, making it the region furthest from restoring pre-pandemic immunisation coverage.
Behind these global averages lie stark disparities between countries affected by conflict and instability and those with stronger health systems.
More than half of all zero-dose children now live in fragile, conflict-affected or vulnerable countries, despite these nations accounting for only about one-third of the world’s child population.
In such settings, political instability, insecurity and chronic underfunding continue to disrupt routine vaccination campaigns, making it difficult for healthcare workers to reach children with essential services.
WHO and UNICEF Warn Funding Cuts Threaten Decades of Health Gains
According to health organisations, the report highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of international vaccination efforts during the last 25 years.
Since 2000, consistent funding from governments, foreign donors, and organisations like the Vaccine Alliance and Gavi has contributed to a 40% annual decrease in the number of children who receive no dosage. Now, millions more kids are safe from illnesses that used to kill countless young people.
Due to years of concerted investment in immunisation programs and improved primary healthcare systems, the average coverage of the entire spectrum of WHO-recommended childhood vaccines in Gavi-supported nations has reached 74%.
UNICEF and WHO caution that these advances are becoming more vulnerable.
The report notes that reductions in international health financing announced over the past two years have yet to be fully reflected in vaccination coverage figures, meaning the impact could become more apparent in future assessments.
Even more concerning, surveillance and data collection systems used to monitor vaccination programmes are themselves beginning to weaken.
Only 18 national immunisation surveys were conducted and submitted during the latest reporting cycle, a dramatic decline from 50 surveys completed in 2024 and well below the average of 33 annual surveys recorded between 2015 and 2019.
Health experts caution that without reliable data, governments will struggle to identify children who have missed vaccinations, increasing the risk of preventable disease outbreaks.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that immunisation remains one of the most effective public health interventions available.
“Every child, whether born into wealth or poverty, peace or conflict, deserves the lifegiving protection that vaccines provide.
“Immunization is one of the most cost-effective, most equitable, and most reliable interventions for protecting children’s health and well-being.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
The WHO Chief added, “Our greatest security begins with ensuring that everyone, wherever they may live, is protected from deadly diseases that vaccines have the power to prevent.”
The report also illustrates how improved access to healthcare can rapidly reverse declining vaccination rates, even in countries affected by conflict.
Sudan recorded the world’s largest increase in first-dose DTP coverage during 2025, rising by 35 percentage points, while first-dose measles vaccination increased by 22 percentage points. By contrast, Syria experienced a six-percentage-point decline in DTP coverage and a 12-point drop in measles vaccination amid ongoing instability.
In middle- and high-income countries, different challenges are emerging. The agencies cite declining political commitment, structural weaknesses and growing vaccine hesitancy as contributing factors behind falling coverage in several nations.
South Africa’s first-dose DTP coverage, for example, has declined by 20 percentage points since 2019 and continued to fall during 2025, while Bosnia and Herzegovina experienced a sharp 23-point decline in first-dose measles vaccination after posting gains the previous year.
Dr. Sania Nishtar, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi, pointed out that “the historic levels of immunisation that we are seeing across lower income countries shows what can be achieved when all stakeholders work together towards a shared objective.”
“As Gavi heads into a new five-year period, our great challenge now will be to maintain this momentum in the face of funding constraints, geopolitical uncertainty, and increasing outbreaks while working harder to reach those children that still do not have access to immunisation.”
Dr. Sania Nishtar
To prevent further setbacks, WHO and UNICEF are urging governments and development partners to strengthen immunisation programmes in conflict-affected countries, combat misinformation surrounding vaccines, increase domestic and international funding, and invest in stronger disease surveillance and health data systems.
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