Global childhood immunisation has fallen sharply to 2008 levels leaving a fifth of children partially or completely unprotected

In April 2023, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) published a report on the global state of children's health. One of the key findings was that the number of under-immunised or unimmunised children worldwide had increased to approximately 18.2 million in 2021. This meant that routine vaccinations had declined to 2008 levels, with about a fifth of children missing out on all or part of their essential immunisation schedules. This decrease poses a real risk to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) immunisation agenda, which aims to reduce morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases by 2030. If we are to sustain the progress we have made, and prevent future outbreaks, it is important to preserve the herd immunity achieved through universal immunisation of children and vulnerable groups. In this paper, we present our views on impact of COVID-19 on routine vaccination, factors that reduced vaccination coverage, and on ways for securing the future.