The Condition of Children Worldwide 2023

Marwan, Hind, and Iman are the three kids we want to introduce to you. 

Their experiences provide as striking illustrations of one of humanity's greatest contributions to public health: universal childhood immunisation.  

a medical facility. a vaccination programme. an internment camp for displaced persons.  

Children like Marwan, Hind, and Iman have had their vaccinations in these places for many years. They are far more likely to have the chance to learn, grow, and live healthy lives if they are protected from sickness. 

As you'll see in this State of the World's Children report, it's critical that we take action right now to make sure that more kids aren't left behind, just like Marwan, Hind, and Iman.

The Condition of Children Worldwide 2023

The Child

The child survival revolution is embodied in the stories of Marwan, Hind, and Iman. But the fact is that more and more kids like them aren't getting the immunisations they urgently need, as this year's State of the World's Children report emphasises. These kids frequently reside in some of the world's poorest, remotest, and most outlying areas.

We are at a turning point. In regions of the world where we've worked valiantly for years to suppress avoidable illnesses, we're now witnessing their resurgence. Millions of the most vulnerable children in the world may never visit that health facility or be reached by a vaccine programme if we don't take action right away. Tragically, kids could be abandoned and put at considerably higher risk for developing these illnesses.

You'll see that there's still time. We have the opportunity to act and save the lives of millions of youngsters. In this paper, we outline what must be done to provide immunisations to the most vulnerable kids on the planet.

The Situation

In order to protect them from serious illness and death, far too many children throughout the world are now not receiving the necessary vaccinations. With 67 million kids missing out fully or partially on routine immunisation between 2019 and 2021 because to the COVID-19 pandemic, these kids are now significantly more exposed to a variety of avoidable illnesses.

Children who are zero-dose recipients have not yet gotten the first dose of the diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus vaccination (DTP1). Children who received one dosage but not the third necessary dose are said to be undervaccinated.

In nations where they had previously been under control, diseases are suddenly resurfacing. In the meantime, countries that haven't yet wiped off the illnesses are also reporting an increase in instances. These include measles, polio, and cholera epidemics.

The Causes

For children immunisation, the COVID-19 epidemic has been a catastrophe. However, the warning indicators were present long before the epidemic. The epidemic brought to light underlying problems with international health systems that had caused this serious reversal. You may read more about the main causes of the overabundance of kids who don't receive the immunisations they require for protection here.

The Solution

This State of the World's Children report shows that we continuously fail to provide one in five children with necessary immunisations, despite demonstrable advancement over many decades. No matter where they were born, who they are, or where they reside, it is imperative that we take action right away to vaccinate every kid. By doing this, we're ensuring the success of both today's kids and tomorrow's adults. The following are the things we can and must do:

Utilise efficient immunisation strategies and catch-up campaigns to vaccinate every kid.

vaccinating children who missed out because to the epidemic. During the epidemic, 67 million kids either completely or partially missed out on receiving their regular immunisations. These kids are becoming older than the typical age for vaccinations. To reach them, immediate action and targeted immunisation efforts are required, backed by adequate financial support for the worst-affected nations. In addition to bolstering current regular immunisation initiatives that are integrated into primary healthcare, these catch-up campaigns are important.

Recognise youngsters with no or insufficient vaccinations and be aware of their requirements. We can find and discover missing zero-dose communities and children by collecting high-quality immunisation data. Engaging with these communities and their leaders to help identify obstacles to children receiving vaccinations and to design strategies that cater to these families' needs is a crucial part of our endeavour.

Identify youngsters in metropolitan regions and reach out to unreached children in rural areas. In order to do this, it will be necessary to boost local involvement, recoup lost human resources as a result of the pandemic response, provide flexible immunisation services, and support local health professionals.

Adapt to the obstacles presented by crisis and conflict situations. Prioritising the rebuilding of health workforces and infrastructure in these vulnerable areas is crucial to ensuring that children who are on the move receive access to immunisations.

Boost vaccination confidence

Engage communities in productive dialogue. Building trust in vaccinations is crucial. Understanding particular views on the benefit and safety of vaccination in every given group is essential if we want to increase vaccination rates globally. This calls for more community involvement and reliance on solutions created and carried out by dependable locals.  

combat the gender divide. To inform and educate carers, especially mothers, new strategies must be used. The demands of carers with limited free time must be catered to in services.

Prepare medical professionals, healthcare professionals, and religious leaders to address issues. These people frequently have a high level of community trust. Therefore, it is crucial that they have the authority to dispel myths and advocate the advantages of vaccination. When these dependable people converse, they enable people to express their thoughts and worries and can promote vaccination confidence.

Invest in your health and immunisations.  

Spend money on basic medical treatment. Prioritising financial support for basic healthcare is crucial. Strong and well funded health care systems are necessary for vaccination programmes to be successful. Prioritising funding is necessary to provide fair access, particularly for underprivileged populations. The strong returns on investment from immunisation highlight the advantages of funding priorities, even in a time of constrained finances.

focus on health professionals, particularly women. They are the lifeblood of primary care. It is crucial to increase their numbers, abilities, and enthusiasm. That include enhancing salary and working conditions, providing opportunities for career progression, and safeguarding against harassment and violence.

Boost your capacity to lead and take responsibility. Making ensuring money is spent wisely and effectively has never been more crucial. Strong leadership and responsibility to supervise efficient health care expenditure are required for that to happen.

improved alignment of donor support. Donor assistance is frequently beneficial for nations with brittle and underfunded health systems. It's crucial that we transfer the financing from disease-specific programmes and campaigns to enhancing the health care system as a whole.

Invest in cutting-edge technologies to make vaccines more widely and affordably available. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the vaccination environment. Messenger RNA (mRNA), one of the most recent developments in vaccine science, allowed us to create vaccines quickly and safely. Moving forward, it's crucial that we finance this innovation. By making investments in regional vaccination centres, particularly in low- and middle-income nations, we can achieve this. In the areas with the largest number of zero-dose children living there, this will assist to boost vaccination accessibility and cost.

Create robust health systems 

Connect services. To attain the objective of immunising every kid, it is imperative to integrate childhood vaccination into improved primary health. As a result, vaccinations will be a standard component of a child's upbringing.  

Boost disease surveillance. Better data gathering enables us to take preventative action by allowing us to track the spread of avoidable illnesses and monitor immunisation rates. It is possible to guarantee that each kid receives the appropriate vaccination at the appropriate time by using computerised immunisation registries. 

Securely expanded access to immunisations and necessities. In addition to the vaccinations themselves, economical cold chain storage, easily available syringe supplies, and protective equipment are needed.

Put invention first. We can reach populations in the most difficult environments by utilising innovative new technology like heat-resistant vaccinations, drones that transport dosages, and solar-powered cold chains. While this is going on, campaigns may be used to locate low-dose neighbourhoods using mapping tools that leverage data from vaccine recipients' phones.

The Hope

We have successfully responded time and time again throughout the years to outbreaks of illnesses that may be prevented by vaccinating millions of children who are at risk.  

To reach these kids once more, we must and can do better.  

The Convention on the Rights of the Child was approved by the United Nations more than 30 years ago. That agreement had a clear promise to every child: "The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and access to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health."  

At the core of that commitment is giving kids the immunisations they need to flourish. We are aware that change is required in order to uphold that ideal. Now is the moment for political determination to safeguard every child's health.

This political will has to be optimistic and founded on the fact that immunising kids is financially prudent. Vaccines, as we all know, don't simply save lives. They make it possible for kids to flourish, attend to school, study, and grow up to be useful members of society.

By taking strong action and giving routine immunisation a high priority, we can reach kids in those locations that are so frequently disregarded.  

Children in isolated communities that are miles from the closest road.

Children living anonymously in urban slums with freshly immigrated family.

Children in conflict areas frequently don't know where they will spend the night tomorrow.  

These youngsters rely on us. Therefore, it is the moment for resolve. The moment to take action and safeguard every child's health is right now.