<
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/childhood-immunization-begins-recovery-after-covid-19-backslide>
"GENEVA/NEW YORK, 18 July 2023 – Global immunization services reached 4 million
more children in 2022 compared to the previous year, as countries stepped up
efforts to address the historic backsliding in immunization caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
According to data published today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and
UNICEF, in 2022, 20.5 million children missed out on one or more vaccines
delivered through routine immunization 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 immunization 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.
“These data are encouraging, and a tribute to those who have worked so hard to
restore life-saving immunization services after two years of sustained decline
in immunization coverage,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO
Director-General. “But global and regional averages don’t tell the whole story
and mask severe and persistent inequities. When countries and regions lag,
children pay the price.”
The early stages of recovery in global immunization 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."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-trachoma-human-rights-mexico-river-madrid-spain/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
