It is the largest backslide in routine immunization in 30 years, the report said. Combined with rapidly rising rates of malnutrition, it has created conditions that could threaten the lives of millions of young children.
“This is an emergency for children’s health — we have to think about the immediate stakes, the number of children that are going to die because of this,” said Lily Caprani, head of advocacy for Unicef. “It’s not in a few years’ time; it’s quite soon.”
The percentage of children worldwide who had received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, known as DTP3 — which Unicef uses as a benchmark for immunization coverage — fell five points between 2019 and 2021, to 81 percent. Measles vaccination rates also fell to 81 percent, and polio coverage dropped significantly, too. A vaccination coverage rate of 94 percent is necessary for herd immunity, to interrupt the chain of transmission of a disease.
This translates to 25 million children who did not receive a basic intervention to protect against lethal illnesses.
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