Friend,

With new cases surging, COVID-19 vaccines are the most urgent concern for many people around the world. But the coronavirus isn’t the only life-threatening disease impacting the vulnerable communities we serve.

Before the pandemic, outbreaks of diseases like measles and pneumonia affected millions of people a year—particularly children—despite being vaccine-preventable. Now, existing barriers to vaccination and the ongoing challenges brought about by the pandemic have pushed vaccination rates for many deadly infections to troubling lows.

That’s why we’re continuing to make our immunization work a top priority in 2021. Learn more about the barriers to vaccination and how our medical teams overcome them to provide essential vaccines in some of the world’s most precarious places.

In April 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that over 117 million children were at risk of not receiving lifesaving measles vaccinations due to the effects of COVID-19. Over 13 million infants have not received any vaccinations since 2018.

Maxime was one of more than 6,200 children in the Central African Republic to contract measles since the start of 2020. There, accessing crucial vaccines has become more difficult as the COVID-19 pandemic impeded the delivery of humanitarian aid. Thankfully, Doctors Without Borders teams were on the ground in early 2020 to make sure he got this vital treatment.

We go where other organizations can’t (or won’t) to provide medical care where it’s needed most. Since the start of the pandemic, our teams have done everything they can to ensure that providing lifesaving vaccines to kids like Maxime remains a top priority. Keep an eye out for another message from us in the coming days with an opportunity to support this vital work in 2021.

In the meantime, learn more about our vaccination work and how it’s saving lives all over the world.