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Almost 14 million children worldwide have not been vaccinated against preventable diseases last year, according to a joint report by two UN agencies: WHO and UNICEF.
More than half of these children are in Africa, those living in countries in conflict being the most affected according to Dr Robin Nandy, immunization manager at UNICEF.
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“Some of the missing vaccines are against [des maladies comme] : polio, measles, meningitis, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. What concerns us most are children who have not been vaccinated against measles, “said Dr. Nandy to the BBC.
Children living in remote rural areas and in urban slums are also considered vulnerable.
Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Chad, the Central African Republic and South Sudan are some of the African countries where there are large numbers of children who have not been vaccinated.
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The report also warns that the number of children who may not be vaccinated this year could double due to the disruption of immunization services due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In March, WHO advised countries to temporarily suspend mass immunization campaigns until effective measures to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 are put in place.
So far, Angola, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso are among the few countries that have resumed mass immunizations following strict guidelines.
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