According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 90% of newborns worldwide (equivalent to 116 million children) receive at least one dose of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccine, of which 85% complete a three-dose course.
Although both indices increased by one percentage point compared to 2024 and by four percentage points compared to 2021, they are still one percentage point lower than the level of 2019, the time before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global immunization program.
UNICEF head Catherine Russell said this means that "millions of disadvantaged children are still not protected due to conflict, displacement and poverty". She also emphasized "No child should endure a disease that can be prevented by a simple vaccine".
The number of children not vaccinated in their first year of life, or known as "zero-dose vaccine", in 2025 was 13.5 million, a decrease of 750,000 children compared to 2024 and a decrease of 1 million children compared to 2023.
A large number of children, mainly in poorer countries, have not completed the vaccination roadmap. Specifically, about 7.3 million newborns are given the first DTP dose in their first months of life, but then are not given the first measles dose, which is usually performed in about 9 to 12 months of age.
According to Ms. Kate O'Brien - Director of the WHO's Vaccination Department, this is said to be related to false information, untrue information spread around measles vaccination. This is also a "worrying" issue, she added.
The failure to complete the vaccination roadmap has contributed to the vaccine coverage being stagnant at only 84% of children worldwide getting the first measles dose, and only 77% of children getting the second dose, lower than the necessary level of 95% to prevent the spread of this disease.
Ms. O'Brien also noted that 57 countries have reported major measles outbreaks or serious local spreads in 2025. The world has witnessed an unprecedented number of outbreaks in the same year, besides measles, many outbreaks of diphtheria and cholera have also been recorded.
Ms. O'Brien warned that countries' significant cuts in aid have revealed "grits" in the global immunization system. The WHO Director noted the impact of budget deficits not fully reflected in 2025 data, and greater concerns will lie in the programs of 2026 as well as in the future.
UNICEF's chief of vaccination, Mr. Ephrem Lemango, agreed with this view: "Our surveillance of epidemic outbreaks has been significantly affected", and according to him, budget cuts are negatively affecting the data systems used to monitor the impact of those cuts.
Global disease surveillance is seriously declining, as the number of national vaccination survey reports in 2025 decreased from 50 to 18. The only bright spot is that the vaccine coverage rate in 57 poor countries supported by the Gavi Alliance reached a record high; however, the organization warns that future budget shortages could threaten the lives of about 600,000 people.
