Global immunisation services reached 4 million more children in 2022 compared to the previous year, as countries stepped up efforts to address the historic backsliding in immunisation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF, in 2022, 20.5 million children missed out on one or more vaccines delivered through routine immunisation services, compared to 24.4 million children in 2021.

In spite of this improvement, the number remains higher than the 18.4 million children who missed out in 2019 before pandemic-related disruptions, underscoring the need for ongoing catch-up, recovery and system strengthening efforts.

The vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) is used as the global marker for immunisation coverage. Of the 20.5 million children who missed out on one or more doses of their DTP vaccines in 2022, 14.3 million did not receive a single dose, so-called zero-dose children. The figure represents an improvement from the 18.1 million zero-dose children in 2021 but remains higher than the 12.9 million children in 2019.

Early stages of recovery in global immunisation have not occurred equally, with the improvement concentrated in a few countries. Progress in well-resourced countries with large infant populations, such as India and Indonesia, masks slower recovery or even continued declines in most low-income countries, especially for measles vaccination.