Vaccinations are preserved millions of children from life -threatening infectious diseases year after year. By 2030, the World Health Organization WHO would like to achieve global vaccination rates of 90 percent for diseases such as measles, polio and diphteria. However, this goal can hardly be achieved according to the current status, a study shows. Because decreasing help for poorer countries and misinformation on vaccination risks makes the vaccination rates stagnate or go back. This also applies to richer regions such as Europe or the USA. The study therefore calls for concentrated efforts to promote the spread and acceptance of vaccines.
Child vaccinations are among the most effective and cost -effective measures in the area of public health. Since the World Health Organization WHO started its extended vaccination program (EPI) in 1974, more than four billion children have been vaccinated and estimated 154 million children from avoidable death. According to the 2030 (IA2030) immunization agenda decided in 2019, the WHO is to be achieved by 2030 global vaccination rates of at least 90 percent for vaccinations against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (DTP), as well as against measles and pneumococci. In addition, the proportion of children who do not receive a DTP vaccination within their first year of life should be halved compared to 2019.
Stagnation with the vaccination rates
A study by the international research consortium Global Burden of Disease 2023 Vaccine Coverage Collaborator now shows that the achievement of these goals is still a long way off. Although the vaccination against many diseases has doubled between 1980 and 2023, the vaccination rates are stagnating in many countries or even decreasing again. The number of measles vaccinations between 2010 and 2019 declined in 100 out of 204. In 21 out of 36 countries with high incomes, the number of vaccinations against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, polio or tuberculosis has decreased by at least one dose.
The Covid 19 pandemic has further exacerbated the problems-on the one hand because routine vaccination programs have been interrupted in many countries, on the other hand, because widespread false information generally led to increased skepticism compared to vaccinations. “These trends increase the risk of breaking out of avoidable diseases such as measles, polio and diphtheria and underline the urgent need for targeted improvements to ensure that all children can benefit from life-saving vaccinations,” says co-author Jonathan Mosser from the University of Washington.
Unequal distribution
According to the analysis, the resources for child vaccinations are still unevenly distributed worldwide. The biggest challenges therefore exist in countries with low and medium -sized incomes, especially in African countries south of the Sahara, including Nigeria, Ethiopia and Somalia, as well as in South Asian countries such as India and Indonesia. In many of these countries, the distribution of vaccines is difficult by flight and displacement, armed conflicts as well as political and economic instability. “Strengthening the primary health systems, combating misinformation about vaccines and adapting to local conditions are of crucial importance to improve the vaccination rate,” writes the research team.
But even in rich countries, too little vaccination rates, outbreaks of avoidable infectious diseases, including the current measles outbreak in the USA, repeatedly occur. Also in the European Union there was an almost ten -time increase in measles infections in 2024. The research team believes that the global vaccination rate against measles can be increased to 90 percent by 2030 in a very optimistic scenario. If the current trends continue, according to the forecast, only 76 percent of the world’s population will have full vaccination protection against measles in 2030.
Close the vaccinations through targeted campaigns
The research team points out that the estimates are affected with uncertainties, since only incomplete data for vaccinations are available in countries with low and medium -sized incomes. In addition, national data only reflects inadequate local and regional differences. However, these could be relevant for targeted vaccination campaigns. “Efforts to reinforce routine vaccinations must primarily achieve marginalized population groups and target subnational areas in order to regain lost soils and reach the global vaccination goals,” the researchers recommend.
In an accompanying comment that has also been published in the journal Lancet, Hai Fang from the University of Beijing, who was not involved in the study: “In view of the possible decline in international help from countries with high incomes And to ensure fair access to life -saving vaccines. “
Source: GBD 2023 Vaccine Coverage Collaborators, The Lancet, Doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736 (25) 01037-2
