UNICEF supports children and families in emergencies

Content Topic

Vaccines

More resources

What to know about HPV vaccination

The HPV vaccine protects against cancers and genital warts caused by the human papillomavirus, more commonly known as HPV. It is recommended for children as young as 9-years-old and up to 26 years of age. Both boys and girls can be infected with HPV, so it’s very important to talk to your doctor about ge...

123,000 children in Europe and Central Asia are missing out on lifesaving vaccines

GENEVA, 15 July 2024 – 123,000 children in Europe and Central Asia have not received any routine vaccinations, according to the latest estimates of national immunization coverage (WUENIC) launched by WHO and UNICEF today.  ‘Zero-dose’ children, those who have not received any routine vaccine, are at greater r...

Strengthening confidence in vaccines, demand for immunization and addressing vaccine hesitancy

To increase confidence in childhood vaccines and demand for immunization, UNICEF ECARO (Europe and Central Asia Regional Office) has created a training package on IPC for immunization. The training package, developed and tested in collaboration with John Hopkins Centre for Communication Programmes in 2018, aims to...

Measles cases across Europe continue to surge, putting millions of children at risk

COPENHAGEN/GENEVA, 28 May 2024 – Measles cases across Europe continue to surge, with the number of measles cases recorded for this year soon to exceed the total number of cases reported throughout 2023, warned WHO and UNICEF today. According to the latest available data, 56,634 measles cases and four deaths were o...

Global immunization efforts have saved at least 154 million lives over the past 50 years

Geneva / New York / Seattle, 24 April 2024 – A major landmark study to be published by The Lancet reveals that global immunization efforts have saved an estimated 154 million lives – or the equivalent of 6 lives every minute of every year – over the past 50 years. The vast majority of lives saved – 101 million – were those of infants. The study,…

Humanly possible

Vaccines are one of humanity's greatest achievement. In the last 50 years alone, they’ve saved nearly 154 million lives – that’s more than 3 million lives a year or six people every minute for five decades. WHO recommends 13 universal immunizations across the life course to defend against deadly illnesses, from pn...

European Immunization Week 2024

Copenhagen, Geneva, Brussels, 22 April 2024 – The establishment of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) 50 years ago was a pivotal moment in the history of public health and has saved millions of lives globally every year. In 1974, only 5% of the world’s children had been vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. Today, that…

Chat with AIDA about immunization

Welcome to AIDA (About Immunization: Dialogue and Advice). AIDA is a free chatbot that provides accurate information about vaccines. Developed by health experts from UNICEF, AIDA is a service for parents and caregivers to learn about childhood vaccines and have their important questions answered.  Vaccination...

05 February 2024

Protecting your child against measles, mumps and rubella

With the decline in vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic, measles cases are rising in Europe and Central Asia. Children who have not been fully vaccinated with the MMR vaccine remain at the greatest risk of catching the measles virus that can lead to pneumonia, lifelong brain damage, hearing loss and even deat...

14 December 2023

Measles cases in Europe and Central Asia skyrocket by 3000 per cent this year compared to last

GENEVA, 14 December 2023 – There have been 30,601 confirmed cases of measles in Europe and Central Asia between January and 5 December 2023, up from 909 throughout 2022, marking a 3266 per cent increase in cases of the vaccine-preventable disease, warns UNICEF. Data also point to a more recent worsening trend as t...

24 October 2023

Protecting children from polio during war time

The world has made tremendous progress against polio in the past three decades, vaccinating over 2.5 billion children and reducing cases by 99 percent. But this progress is fragile, and we cannot afford to lose focus. Millions of children are still missing out on routine vaccinations because of pandemic disruption...

21 September 2023

Amidst the war, Ukraine’s polio outbreak is declared successfully closed

KYIV, 21 September 2023 – The World Health Organization (WHO) Europe has declared an outbreak of poliovirus in Ukraine, detected in October 2021, officially closed. The comprehensive outbreak response initiated by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine in December 2021 has successfully stopped transmission of the virus...