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UN warns of global immunization system's cracks amid funding cuts and misinformation
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Health & Science

UN warns of global immunization system's cracks amid funding cuts and misinformation

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Context piece
  • Global infant vaccination rates saw a slight improvement in 2025, reaching 90% for the first DTP dose and 85% for the full series.
  • However, these rates remain below pre-pandemic levels, leaving millions of vulnerable children unprotected due to funding cuts, conflict, and misinformation.
  • Measles outbreaks are surging in 57 countries, linked to vaccination dropouts and misinformation, while other diseases like diphtheria and cholera are also increasing.

Global infant vaccination coverage edged up slightly in 2025, offering a glimmer of hope, but the United Nations warns that dangerous gaps persist, fueled by drastic funding cuts, ongoing conflicts, and the pervasive spread of misinformation. Data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF revealed that 90% of infants worldwide, approximately 116 million, received at least one dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) vaccine. Additionally, 85% completed the full three-dose series.

Millions of vulnerable children are still being left unprotected due to conflict, displacement, and poverty.

— Catherine RussellUNICEF chief, commenting on the reasons behind incomplete vaccination coverage.

While these figures represent a one-percentage-point increase from 2024 and a four-point rise since 2021, they still fall short of 2019 levels, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic's disruption of immunization programs. UNICEF chief Catherine Russell emphasized that millions of vulnerable children remain unprotected, citing conflict, displacement, and poverty as key barriers. "No child should suffer from a disease that a simple vaccine can prevent," she stated.

No child should suffer from a disease that a simple vaccine can prevent.

— Catherine RussellUNICEF chief, emphasizing the importance of preventable diseases.

The UN agencies highlighted a concerning trend of children starting but not completing their vaccination schedules, particularly in poorer nations. An estimated 7.3 million infants received their first DTP dose but did not proceed to receive their first measles dose. WHO's vaccines director Kate O'Brien attributed these dropouts partly to "false information, misinformation that is provided around measles vaccination," a development she described as a "very significant concern."

We think that this is clearly related in some settings to false information, misinformation that is provided around measles vaccination.

— Kate O'BrienWHO's vaccines director, explaining the link between misinformation and vaccination dropouts.

This trend has contributed to measles coverage stalling at 84% for the first dose and 77% for the second, far below the 95% threshold needed to prevent widespread transmission. The consequences are evident, with 57 countries reporting significant measles outbreaks in 2025. O'Brien also noted a rise in diphtheria and cholera outbreaks, warning that the full impact of recent aid cuts, particularly from the United States, may not yet be reflected in the 2025 data.

The consequence is being felt now.

— Kate O'BrienWHO's vaccines director, pointing to the current impact of stalled vaccination coverage.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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