A child in Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi, receives an injection of vaccine against infectious diseases. (Photo: VNA)“The State of the World’s Children 2023: For Every Child,Vaccination” revealed that 48 million children globally didn’t receive asingle routine vaccine, also known as “zero-dose”.
Vietnam was listed as the 18th country in the world with thelargest number of zero-dose children, as 187,315 children under one year olddid not receive any vaccinations in 2021, the year of the severe fourth wave ofCOVID-19 infections with stringent lockdown measures in place.
Worldwide, the children who are missing out live in the poorest,most remote and marginalised communities, at times impacted by conflict.
New data produced for the report by the International Centre forEquity in Health found that in the poorest households, one in five children arezero-dose. Among the wealthiest, this number is just one in 20. It foundunvaccinated children often live in hard-to-reach communities such as ruralareas or urban slums.
They often have mothers who cannot go to school and are givenlittle say in family decisions.
These challenges are greatest in low- and middle-income countries,where about one in ten children in urban areas are zero doses and one in six inrural areas.
In Vietnam, data showed that the prevalence of zero-dose childrenin urban areas was almost 1.5 times higher than those living in rural areas(6.3%-4.2%), while the prevalence in the poorest households was almost doublethose in the wealthiest (13.5%-6.6%)
“The pandemic interrupted childhood vaccination almost everywhere,including in Vietnam, especially due to intense demands on health systems, thediversion of immunisation resources to COVID-19 vaccination, health workershortages and stay-at-home measures," said Lesley Miller, UNICEFDeputy Representative in Vietnam.
"Added to this is a current delay in the procurement ofvaccines. We are deeply concerned about the possibility of outbreaks ofvaccine-preventable diseases – measles in particular.
“Children born just before or during the pandemic are now movingpast the age when they would normally be vaccinated, underscoring the need forurgent action to catch up on those who were missed and prevent deadly diseaseoutbreaks.”
The report also showed that the public perception of theimportance of vaccines for children declined during the COVID-19 pandemic in 52out of 55 countries studied.
Vaccine confidence is volatile and time specific. However, thereport warns the confluence of several factors suggests the threat of vaccinehesitancy may be growing. These factors include uncertainty about the responseto the pandemic, growing access to misleading information, declining trust inexpertise, and political polarisation.
To vaccinate every child, it is vital to strengthen primary healthcare and provide its mostly female front-line workers with the resources andsupport they need.
The report finds women are at the front line of deliveringvaccinations, but they face low pay, informal employment, lack of formaltraining and career opportunities and threats to their security.
To address this child survival crisis, UNICEF is calling ongovernments to double down on their commitment to increase financing forimmunisation and to work with stakeholders to unlock available resources, tourgently implement and accelerate catch-up vaccination efforts to protectchildren and prevent disease outbreaks.
The report is urging governments to; urgently identify and reachall children, especially those who missed vaccinations during the COVID-19pandemic; strengthen demand for vaccines, including by building confidence;prioritise funding to immunisation services and primary health care; and buildresilient health systems through investment in female health workers,innovation and local manufacturing.
“Vietnam’s successful experience in its mass immunisation campaignagainst COVID-19 laid a good foundation for the country to immediately addressthe current delays in procurement of vaccines and fast-track catch-up forchildren who have missed out on routine immunisations”, said UNICEF DeputyRepresentative Miller
“Routine immunisation and strong health systems are our best shotat preventing future pandemics, unnecessary deaths and suffering.”/.
VNA
