One in ten children around the world did not vaccinate in 2017 and is at risk of diphtheria, tetanus or pertussis, warns the World Health Organization (WHO).
This study, in collaboration with Unicef (United Nations Children's Fund), reveals that 12.9 million children out of a total of 116.6 million have not been vaccinated and, in addition, about 6.6 million children received only one dose out of the three that is necessary to protect against communicable diseases.
Since 2010, the rate of vaccination in children remains stable at 86% and is still far from the 90% target set by the UN.
"Most of the children who are not vaccinated are the same ones that have not gone through the health systems. These children probably have not received any medical care. If we want to increase the overall rate of vaccinations, health services should reach those who are not currently covered by them," said Dr. Jean-Marie Ocuo-Bele, Director of the WHO Immunization and Vaccine Service.
Thanks to vaccination, every year, 2-3 million deaths from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and measles are avoided, WHO and Unicef recall.
According to the most recent statistics, 130 of the 194 WHO member countries achieved at least 90% of their diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccination last year. But in eight countries this figure still remains below 50%: the Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Ukraine.
Recalling that half of the world's population lives in urban areas, including the slums of Africa and Asia, the report stresses that "poor bourgeois" are the ones most at risk of being vaccinated.
