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Immunization

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24 October 2024

85 per cent of children affected by polio in 2023 lived in fragile and conflict-affected countries

NEW YORK, 24 October 2024 — Of the 541 children affected by polio globally in 2023, 85 per cent live in the 31 fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable countries, according to a new UNICEF analysis on World Polio Day. Polio cases in these settings have more than doubled in the past five years, while routine chil...

Global childhood immunization levels stalled in 2023 leaving many without life-saving protection

Joint News Release 15 July 2024 | Geneva/New York – Global childhood immunization coverage stalled in 2023, leaving 2.7 million additional children un- and under-vaccinated compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to data published today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. The latest WHO a...

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

24 April 2024 | Geneva / New York / Seattle – 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 – ...

Community health workers in Brazil work tirelessly to reach children who missed out on vaccines

Nurse preparing a vaccine UNICEF/U.S. CDC/UNI408803/Hiller Whenever Dynnhyfer de Souza helps to protect the health of a child, it has a profound impact on her. “I get emotional when people line up to be vaccinated by me,” says the nursing technician who lives in the Brazilian city of Baturité, Ceará. “They say I have a light hand, which is very…, On average, across different routine vaccines, Brazil is bouncing back and recovering, The situation ...

Childhood vaccination in Latin America and the Caribbean shows signs of recovery but still lags dangerously behind

PANAMA CITY, 18 July 2023 – Immunization services in Latin America and the Caribbean reached more children in 2022 than in the previous year, yet fall significantly short of universal coverage, according to the latest estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. In the region, coverage of the thi...

The Power of Community: Volunteers keep watch over children’s immunization

After a morning of tending her dairy farm and delivering milk, María Ortencia Catucuago switches gears: She puts on a vest and backpack and begins her daily rounds to neighbourhood homes in her role as a community health volunteer. “I feel passionate about helping others,” Catucuago said. “For many years, I have ...

Latin America and the Caribbean records world’s biggest drop in childhood vaccination over past decade

PANAMA CITY, 20 April 2023 – In the last ten years, Latin America and the Caribbean has gone from having one of the highest rates of childhood vaccination in the world to one of the lowest, UNICEF warned today with the launch of The State of the World’s Children 2023: For Every Child, Vaccination. In Latin Ameri...

Born to serve: The story of a brigade member who gives without measure

Mayra Herrera was born to save lives. With almost 30 years as a volunteer health brigade member, she faced the pandemic guided by her calling to serve and a close relationship with her community, opening the doors that fear closed to the health system in the darkest days. Her eyes do not waver, they stare deeply w...

13 January 2023

UNICEF welcomes Canada’s contribution of US$188 million to support COVID-19 response and health systems strengthening

NEW YORK, 13 January 2023 -- UNICEF welcomes today’s announcement of CAD $70 million by the Government of Canada, bringing Canada’s contribution towards the 2022 Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) Humanitarian Action for Children appeal up to CAD 255 million (US $188 million). Canada’s support for the continuing pandemic response and…

COVID-19 pandemic leads to major backsliding on childhood vaccinations, new WHO, UNICEF data shows

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 15 July 2021 --- 23 million children missed out on basic vaccines through routine immunization services in 2020 – 3.7 million more than in 2019 - according to official data published today by WHO and UNICEF. This latest set of comprehensive worldwide childhood immunization figures, the first offic...

How to talk to your friends and family about COVID-19 vaccines

Vaccines save 2 to 3 million lives each year and are amongst the greatest advances of modern medicine. The development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines is a huge step forward in our global effort to end the pandemic. This is exciting news, but there are still some people who are skeptical or hesitant about ...

How to talk to your children about COVID-19 vaccines

News about COVID-19 vaccines is flooding our daily lives and it is only natural that curious young children will have questions – lots of them. Here are some tips for helping to explain what can be a complicated topic in simple and reassuring terms. , 1. Make sure you’re up to date yourself, Before talking to you...