Hi there,
Vaccines save lives. They give children the opportunity to grow up healthy and reach their full potential.
But 1 in 5 children are zero-dose or under-vaccinated in many of the world’s poorest, most remote and most marginalized communities. This leaves them unprotected against life-threatening diseases like polio and measles in countries like Syria where children lack access to care due to recent disasters and more than a decade of national conflict.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health care services worldwide, causing the sharpest drop in routine childhood immunizations in decades. In 2021 alone, 25 million children missed their vaccinations — that’s 2 million more than 2020 and 6 million more than 2019. The consequences of failing to vaccinate children will only become more dire in the coming years, with climate change risks exposing new communities to infectious diseases and disasters that put a strain on access to essential services. |
But there’s hope.
UNICEF’s latest State of the World’s Children report lays out plans to reach every child, everywhere, with vaccines. Reaching every child is not an easy task but as the leading distributor of vaccines globally, UNICEF is drawing on lessons learned from the pandemic and decades-long experience in vaccinating children. That includes increased investment in these key initiatives:
✅ Boosting confidence in and demand for vaccines
✅ Expanding primary health care access in the communities that need it most
✅ Building resilient systems to respond to outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics
✅ Reaching zero-dose and under-vaccinated children. |
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With key partners, UNICEF’s existing programs reach 45 percent of the world’s children under 5 each year with lifesaving vaccines. We’ve seen the powerful impact of reaching children with vaccines, allowing millions the opportunity to learn, grow and be healthy. Now, we’re taking our mission to vaccinate every child, everywhere, to the next level in 2023 — honing in on the communities that need our support most.
Get all the details in UNICEF’s 2023 State of the World’s Children report. |
Thank you for your support,
Shannon Coffey
UNICEF USA |
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