UNICEF, WHO concerned over numbers of children not vaccinated against measles
The World Health Organization and UNICEF have released a report that raises concern about global ignorance in ensuring children from low-income countries are protected against childhood disease.
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
- Child vaccinations
A child with measles. Picture: CDC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
CAPE TOWN - More than 2.7 million children are not vaccinated against measles and over 200,000 of them are in South Africa.
That's been revealed by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, which says global childhood immunisation coverage stalled last year.
It adds that 75% of children affected by measles today live in countries with low vaccine coverage.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF have released a report that raises concern about global ignorance in ensuring children from low-income countries are protected against childhood disease.
UNICEF says inequality around vaccine access is the new evolving emergency posing threats to public health.
According to the WHO, the number of children who did not receive a single dose of the measles vaccine increased from 13.9 million in 2022 to 14.5 million in 2023 worldwide.
UNICEF said that global immunisation efforts had saved over 154 million lives over the past 50 years, including the lives of 101 million children.