Pakistan

UN Reveals Massive Reduction in Childhood Immunization

A report by the United Nations (UN) has highlighted that childhood vaccinations had the steepest decline in the last three decades, mainly because of growing misinformation and global supply chain hindrances caused by COVID-19.

Official data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday revealed a five percentage point drop among children who had received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) to 81 percent between 2019 and 2021. This vaccine is used as an indicator for immunization coverage internationally.

UNICEF’s Executive Director, Catherine Russell labeled the slide ‘a red alert for child health’ and added, “We are witnessing the largest sustained drop in childhood immunization in a generation. The consequences will be measured in lives”.

It is noted that around 25 million children did not receive one or more doses of DTP in 2021, which is two million more children than in 2020, and six million more than in 2019. Now, an increasing number of children are at risk of contracting this preventable disease.

The drop was caused by several factors such as a large number of children living in conflict zones, increasing misinformation, service and supply disruptions due to the pandemic, and lockdowns that hindered the outreach campaigns.

The Director of the WHO’s Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals Department, Kate O’Brien said that the pandemic has forced parents and families to choose between “putting food on the table and getting their children vaccinated”.

Of the aforementioned 25 million children, 18 million had not been administered a single dose of DTP in 2021, and the majority of these children reportedly live in low- and middle-income countries. Ethiopia, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines were found to have the highest numbers of zero-dose children.

Moreover, a quarter of the coverage of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations administered globally in 2019 has diminished, which has hugely dented efforts against cervical cancers. It was also found that a mere 12 percent of girls are fully protected against such diseases although the first vaccines were licensed more than 15 years ago.

Observers had expected 2021 to be a year of recovery after the lockdowns the previous year but it turned out to be the worst year for DTP coverage since 2008 amid a rising number of cases of severe acute malnutrition.

The report also detailed that “the convergence of a hunger crisis with a growing immunization gap threatens to create the conditions for a child survival crisis”.

Additionally, it was noted that first dose measles coverage had dipped to 81 percent in 2021, which is the lowest level since 2008.

Furthermore, while declines were observed in every region, certain countries, including Pakis­tan and Uganda, resisted the negative trend, and international organizations instructed them to intensify their secondary vaccination efforts.

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Published by
Salman Ahmed