Millions of children miss key vaccinations

Nearly 14 million children globally were not immunised against preventable illnesses last year, according to a joint report by two UN agencies: WHO and Unicef.

More than half of these children are in Africa with those living in countries in conflict being the most affected, Dr Robin Nandy, chief of immunisation at Unicef, told the BBC.

“Some of the missed vaccines are against [diseases like]: polio; measles; meningitis; diphtheria; tetanus and whooping cough. Of greater concern to us are children who have not been immunised against measles,” Dr Nandy said.

Children living in remote rural areas and urban slums are also said to be vulnerable.

Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Chad, Central African Republic and South Sudan are some of the African countries with high numbers of children who have not been vaccinated.

The report also warns that the number of children likely to miss vaccinations this year could double as a result of disruption to immunisation services due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In March, the WHO advised countries to temporarily suspend mass vaccination campaigns, until effective measures for reducing Covid-19 transmission were established.

So far, Angola, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso are among the few countries that have resumed mass vaccinations following strict guidelines.

This article was originally published by BBC New. [Photo: AFP]