New York, 25 April 2019 – An estimated 169 million children missed out on the first dose of the measles vaccine between 2010 and 2017, or 21.1 million children a year on average, UNICEF said today.
Widening pockets of unvaccinated children have created a pathway to the measles outbreaks hitting several countries around the world today.
“The ground for the global measles outbreaks we are witnessing today was laid years ago,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “The measles virus will always find unvaccinated children. If we are serious about averting the spread of this dangerous but preventable disease, we need to vaccinate every child, in rich and poor countries alike.”
In the first three months of 2019, more than 110,000 measles cases were reported worldwide – up nearly 300 per cent from the same period last year. An estimated 110,000 people, most of them children, died from measles in 2017, a 22 per cent increase from the year before.
Two doses of the measles vaccine are essential to protect children from the disease. However, due to lack of access, poor health systems, complacency, and in some cases fear or skepticism about vaccines, the global coverage of the first dose of the measles vaccine was reported at 85 per cent in 2017, a figure that has remained relatively constant over the last decade despite population growth. Global coverage for the second dose is much lower, at 67 per cent. The World Health Organization recommends a threshold of 95 per cent immunization coverage to achieve so-called ‘herd immunity’.
| Top ten high-income countries where children not vaccinated with the first measles vaccine dose 2010 – 2017 (numbers in thousands) |
| 1. United States: 2,593,000 |
| 2. France: 608,000 |
| 3. United Kingdom: 527,000 |
| 4. Argentina: 438,000
5. Italy: 435,000 |
| 6. Japan: 374,000 |
| 7. Canada: 287,000 |
| 8. Germany: 168,000 |
| 9. Australia: 138,000 |
| 10. Chile: 136,000 |
The United States tops the list of high-income countries with the most children not receiving the first dose of the vaccine between 2010 and 2017, at more than 2.5 million. It is followed by France and the United Kingdom, with over 600,000 and 500,000 unvaccinated infants, respectively, during the same period.In high income countries, while coverage with the first dose is 94 per cent, coverage for the second dose drops to 91 per cent, according to the latest data.
In low- and middle-income countries, the situation is critical. In 2017, for example, Nigeria had the highest number of children under one year of age who missed out on the first dose, at nearly 4 million. India with its large annual birth cohort of 25 million has 2.9 million children missing the first dose of the measles vaccine, despite a coverage of 88 per cent, followed by Pakistan and Indonesia (1.2 million each), and Ethiopia (1.1 million).
Worldwide coverage levels of the second dose of the measles vaccines are even more alarming. Of the top 20 countries with the largest number of unvaccinated children in 2017, 9 have not introduced the second dose. Twenty-countries in sub-Saharan Africa have not introduced the necessary second dose in the national vaccination schedule, putting over 17 million infants a year at higher risk of measles during their childhood.
UNICEF, with partners such as the Measles and Rubella Initiative and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is helping address this measles crisis by:
- Negotiating vaccine prices: the cost of the measles vaccine is now at an all-time low;
- Helping countries identify underserved areas and unreached children;
- Procuring vaccines and other immunization supplies;
- Supporting supplementary vaccination campaigns to address gaps in routine immunization coverage;
- Working with relevant countries to introduce the second dose of the measles vaccine in the national immunization schedule. Cameroon, Liberia and Nigeria are on track to do so in 2019.
- Introducing innovations like the use of solar power and mobile technologies to maintain vaccines at the right temperature.
“Measles is far too contagious,” said Fore. “It is critical not only to increase coverage but also to sustain vaccination rates at the right doses to create an umbrella of immunity for everyone.”
Notes to editors in India
Measles Rubella campaign in India
India launched the Measles Rubella (MR) vaccine campaign in February 2017 and has already covered 305 million children in 32 states/Union Territories. The MR vaccine is a WHO pre-qualified vaccine for its quality and safety and has been licensed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, Government of India. The MR vaccine being used in the campaign as well as for Routine Immunization is made in India and is exported for use in the world over. UNICEF is a key technical partner in the immunization programme and stands committed to support the Government in ensuring that no child suffers or dies from diseases that can be prevented through vaccination.
“India has achieved a remarkable progress in immunizing 305 million children through the Measles and Rubella campaign since February 2017. Efforts are underway to ensure that every child is protected from Measles, Rubella and other vaccine preventable diseases. On this World Immunization Week, let us join forces to create awareness on the power of vaccines #VaccinesWork, to save lives and ensure that no child suffers or dies from these vaccine preventable diseases,” said Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF India Representative.
About the Analysis
The analysis is based on UNICEF and WHO’s estimation of national immunization coverage of 194 countries for 2017. Provisional measles and rubella data is based on monthly data reported to WHO Geneva in April 2019. For high income countries, follow the World Bank country classification by income in July 2018.
About World Immunization Week
Celebrated in the last week of April, World Immunization Week aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. Find more details about UNICEF’s WIW efforts, click here.
About Measles and Rubella Initiative
UNICEF is part of the Measles and Rubella Initiative, a private-public partnership including WHO, CDC, United Nations Foundation and American Red Cross that spearheads a global push towards measles and rubella elimination and control.
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. More than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org.
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