15 million vulnerable children lack access to vaccines — UNICEF, WHO

At least 15 million vulnerable children lack access to vaccines and are victims of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases globally, a recent survey report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed.

According to the global organisations, such limited access is occasioned by funding cuts to global health worldwide. These cuts are putting lives at risk and exposing countries to increased costs in treating diseases and responding to outbreaks, which can further jeopardise health issues.

The survey report was contained in a paper presented by the Health Specialist, UNICEF Field Office Enugu, Dr Olusoji Akinleye, at a two-day Media Dialogue to mark the 2025 World Immigration Week with the theme ‘Immunisation for All is Humanly Possible’.

The media dialogue, organised by UNICEF, Enugu Field Office in collaboration with Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State (BCA), was targeted at the 12 states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Benue, Ebonyi, Enugu, Rivers, Delta, Imo and Kogi States.

Presenting a paper on “‘Immunisation for All is Humanly Possible’- Availability” at the dialogue held at Hotel Fidelma, Enugu and monitored virtually by select journalists in Uyo at the weekend, Akinleye said the health sector is stretched with lots of challenges.

“I would like to talk about the shrinking funding support to immunisation and the entire health spectrum. There is an ongoing global funding cut which further worsens the situation. 

“A recent WHO report shows that nearly half of the countries’ summits are facing serious mortgage to severe destruction to vaccination campaigns as a result of funding cuts, which immunization also suffers and access to supplies due to reduced Dollar funding.

“At the same time, the number of children missing routine immunisations has increased in recent years, even as countries do catch up on children missed during the pandemic. That is the COVID pandemic. You recall that between 2019 and 2022, the whole world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic,” he stated.

According to him, within that period, laboratories that used to produce vaccines had to concentrate efforts on research for the COVID-19 vaccine. “So, there was a scarcity of vaccines on one hand, and during that period, vaccine hesitancy grew, so our routine immunisation suffered, and coverage got very low.

“So we had to come up with the Big Catch Up campaign in some countries, including Nigeria, and we were able to cover lost ground, so to say.

“In 2023, an estimated 40.5 million children missed all of their routine vaccine doses. That’s an increase upfront, that’s from 13.9 million in 2022 and 4.9 million in 2019. In other words, we are having an increasing population of children who did not have immunization.

“Over half of these children live in countries facing conflicts and instability where access to basic health services is disrupted, and by the way, Nigeria falls into this category.

“Quoting the Executive Director of UNICEF, Cathrine Russel, “the global funding crisis is severely limiting our ability to vaccinate about 15 million vulnerable children in fragile and vulnerable countries against measles … immunisation services, disease surveillance in almost 50 countries are already being disrupted”, he said.

The UNICEF Health expert stated that joint efforts by UNICEF and partners have helped countries address some of these challenges, as “every year, vaccines serve over 14.2 million lives in these countries, with nearly half of these lives saved in the African region. In the past two years, we have saved many lives, like in the African region, which has the highest rate of cervical cancer in the world.

“UNICEF and WHO are calling for urgent and sustained political efforts and investment to strengthen immunisation efforts and protect significant progress achieved as per reducing child mortality over the past 50 years.

“Vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives in the past five decades…Countries with limited resources must invest in the highest impact interventions, and that includes vaccines, according to the WHO Director General.”

Besides funding, he listed other challenges facing the health system to include poor economy, noting that “when the economy is bad, every system, sector suffers, including health. Funding can hardly come as expected to the required level.

“Secondly, we are experiencing a heavy reduction in the workforce as people are retiring and because of the economic challenges, they are not being replaced. Some of our health workers who are not getting better remuneration go abroad in what we call the ‘Japa’ syndrome. We have highly skilled health professionals emigrating to other climes.

“There is a non-availability of products and other consumables. Insecurity is another challenge in the Southeast. We know that in some local governments in Imo and Anambra states, facilities have been closed down. And people can not access health care for fear of their lives, and it is not safe for health workers to make these services available.”

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He, however, called on governments to invest in strengthening and harmonising immunisation while UNCEF, in its last line of support, is ensuring vaccine availability at every level, right from national to the point of service at the facilities providing for personnel and support.

Earlier in her welcome address to formally declare the media dialogue open, the UNICEF Chief Field Officer, Juliet Chiluwe, said UNICEF is doing its best and will continue to do so to ensure good health services for women and children, and “we will provide funds, logistics, support and other things to provide all these services”.

She commended the contributions from state governments that “augment UNICEF efforts in these areas, and we will not relent but work to ensure that our services and vaccines get to the last line.”

The Communications Officer, UNICEF, Enugu Field Office, Dr. Ijeoma Onuoha Ogwe, in her Introductory remarks, said the main objectives of the dialogue are reporting media role in information sharing and form an existing partnership on a campaign against immunizable diseases

Dr. Ogwe noted that the dialogue would further engage the media to help disseminate, create and harmonise messages about immunisation for all as humanly possible and update on current trends as provided by the 2025 theme and immunisation materials

On the third objective, she stated that the Media “will step up advocacy for the realisation of this theme, while holding stakeholders accountable for the fulfilment of the right of the child in survival, development, and protection from harm.”

Another health specialist, UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Dr Ifeyinwa Anyanyo, said vaccines are taken closer to the people right from the state cold chain to the local government cold chain.

Dr. Anyanyo, who spoke on ‘Immunisation for All is Humanly Possible’—Accessibility,” however, complained that insecurity remains a major challenge in Nigeria, saying, in spite of that, the mandate is to continue to provide those interventions to make sure that no child is left behind.”

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