Geneva, April 24 (QNA) - United Nations agencies announced the success of a large-scale global immunization effort known, which reached around 18.3 million children aged between one and five years across 36 countries, delivering 100 million doses of life-saving vaccines.
This was stated in a joint release by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, World Health Organization, and UNICEF, coinciding with the launch of World Immunization Week from April 24 to 30.
According to the World Health Organization, the initiative was a historic, multi-year, multi-country effort aimed at addressing the decline in vaccination rates primarily caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the children reached between 2023 and 2025, an estimated 12.3 million had received no vaccines at all, while 15 million had never received a measles vaccine.
The program concluded on Mar. 31, 2026. The participating agencies emphasized that while catch-up vaccination is important for closing immunization gaps, expanding routine immunization programs remains the most effective and sustainable way to protect children and prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
The three organizations also warned that reducing the annual number of children who miss out on vaccines will require building systems capable of consistently reaching hard-to-access communities, especially in a context marked by rising birth rates, conflict and displacement, funding cuts, and pressures on health systems. (QNA)