Africa: Children in Conflict Zones and Remote Areas Bear the Brunt of Global

What the report says

AllAfrica, republishing an Inter Press Service report from the United Nations, highlighted how children in conflict-affected and remote communities remain outside routine vaccination systems despite improving global immunization coverage. The report centers on Sagal, a 23-year-old junior doctor in maternal and child health in Mogadishu, Somalia, and Johao, a 14-year-old youth health advocate from Ecuador’s Amazon region, both members of UNICEF’s Global Youth Health Advisory Group.

According to the WHO-UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage cited in the report, 90% of infants worldwide received at least one dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine in 2025, while 85% completed the three-dose series. Still, an estimated 13.5 million “zero-dose” children received no vaccine in their first year, and 7.3 million infants began DTP vaccination but did not receive a first measles dose. More than half of zero-dose children live in fragile, conflict-affected or vulnerable countries, where insecurity, weak services and limited funding disrupt immunization.

The IPS report says Somalia’s low vaccination coverage is linked to years of conflict and uneven access, especially in unsafe or unreachable areas. In Ecuador’s Amazon communities, Johao described barriers including distance, poor transport, limited infrastructure and misinformation. Both accounts point to a combination of physical access problems and declining trust in vaccines.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, quoted in the report, said vaccination has recovered from pandemic-era declines but millions of children remain exposed because of displacement, poverty and war. WHO and UNICEF are calling for stronger immunization services in fragile settings, action against misleading health information, sustained funding, and better disease surveillance and data systems.