Immunization

Help Stop Disease in its Tracks

Since 1980, UNICEF has helped quadruple immunization rates for children worldwide, saving as many as 3 million young lives every year.

A record 123 million children were immunized globally in 2017. As a direct result of immunization, the world is closer than ever to eradicating polio, with only three remaining polio-endemic countries: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. And as of March 2018, all but 14 countries have eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus, a disease with a fatality rate of 70 to 100 percent among newborns. 

Despite our progress, an estimated 19.9 million infants worldwide missed out on routine vaccinations in 2017. Around 60 percent of these children live in 10 countries: Afghanistan, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. 

The promise of vaccines is great. If all children were fully immunized, we could save millions more lives — 25 million by 2020.

Pledge to support vaccines and mass immunization around the world, because vaccines work.

Why aren't kids getting the immunizations they need to survive and thrive?

• Conflict, displacement and poverty keep some of the most vulnerable children from getting the vaccines that can protect them from diseases such as measles, whooping cough and pneumonia.
• Fear of vaccines can prevent families from getting the help they need. UNICEF deploys community mobilizers to educate and reassure families. 

Why are immunizations one of the most cost-effective public health investments?

• Immunizations provide a foundation for good health at the start of life, and put children on a path toward a healthier, more productive future.
• Every dollar spent vaccinating kids yields an estimated $44 in economic and social benefits in low and middle income countries.
• As the world's largest procurer of vaccines, UNICEF helped drive down the costs of immunization in 2011 by publishing the price it pays for every vaccine.
• UNICEF's tremendous reach, as vaccinator of nearly half of the world's children, gives it a unique ability to negotiate the lowest possible prices from manufacturers.

We’re most protected from deadly diseases when we are all protected together. 

Learn more about efforts by UNICEF and its partners to improve immunization rates globally, and stop disease in its tracks.