The vaccination of children against potentially fatal diseases records an alarming decline in global level, warns a study published on Wednesday, June 25, in The Lancet Medical Magazine. The regress is put on account of the economic inequalities, the disturbances generated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the spread of disinformation regarding the safety of vaccines.
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The analysis, quoted by AFP and Agerpres, covers the period 1980-2023 and includes data from 204 countries and territories. The study emphasizes that, although in the last five decades the vaccines have saved about 154 million lives of children, recent progress is threatened by a worrying decrease in their administration.
Significant decreases in developed countries and Latin America
Researchers point out that measles vaccinations have decreased between 2010 and 2019 in almost half of the countries of the world, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean region. At the same time, the rich countries have also registered a decrease in the vaccination rate for several preventable diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis and convulsive cough.
The impact of pandemic
The Covid-19 Pandemia amplified these problems. Between 2020 and 2023, about 13 million children did not even receive a dose of vaccine, and 15.6 million were not completely vaccinated against basic diseases, such as diphtheria, tetanus or measles.
Most of the unvaccinated children live in only eight countries, most of the sub -Saharan and South Asia.
Increasing epidemics
The consequences are already visible. The number of measles cases in the European Union is almost ten times higher in 2024 than in the previous year.
In the US, more than 1,000 cases have already reported in May, more than 2023. Other countries, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea, have a worrying comeback.
“The systematic vaccination of children is one of the most efficient and profitable public health measures”, said Jonathan Mosser, the main author of the study and researcher at the Institute for Metric and Health Evaluation (IHME).
OMS targets for 2030, increasingly touched
The World Health Organization has proposed that, by 2030, 90% of children and teenagers should be immunized with essential vaccines. It also wants to reduce the number of children under one year unvaccinated compared to 2019. So far, only 18 countries have managed to achieve this goal.
Global budget discounts aggravate the situation. The Trump administration cut considerably, at the beginning of 2025, the funds for international health aid, directly affecting the vaccination campaigns.
The Gates Foundation has announced a donation of 1.6 billion for health. Bill Gates is one of the most important supporters of WHO and global vaccination programs, including in the fight against polio.
