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Child Vaccinations Tick Up, Millions Still Unprotected
15 Jul
Summary
- Global childhood vaccination rates saw a slight rise in 2025.
- Millions of children remain unprotected due to conflict and funding cuts.
- Unvaccinated children are concentrated in conflict-affected nations.
Global childhood vaccination rates saw a modest increase in 2025, yet millions of infants remain without protection against preventable diseases. According to the latest estimates from the WHO and UNICEF, 90% of infants globally received their first diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough (DTP) vaccine. However, this progress is described as fragile.
The number of children receiving zero vaccine doses decreased slightly from 2024 to 2025. Despite this, 13.5 million children were still unvaccinated, a figure significantly above the target needed to halve the 2019 total by 2030. Over half of these unvaccinated children reside in conflict-affected countries.
Funding cuts initiated in early 2025 are a growing concern for the outlook of immunization programs in 2026. Health officials warn of significant risks and existing "cracks" in the system, which are already contributing to increased outbreaks of diseases like measles and cholera.
