International partners have announced a new effort – the “Big Catch-Up” – to vaccinate millions of children and revive vaccine progress lost during the pandemic.

• The epidemic has reduced the necessary vaccination levels in more than 100 countriesis leading.Increased epidemics of measles, diphtheria, polio and yellow fever.
• ‘The Big Catch-up’ is a protracted effort to raise childhood vaccination rates to at least pre-pandemic levels and beyond.
• Led by several national and international health partners, The Big Catch-up also aims to ensure strong primary health care services for future essential vaccines.

The World Health Organization, UNICEF, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with the Vaccine Agenda 2030 and many other international and national health partners, are joining forces today to launch a global effort called “The Big Catch-up”. To scale up childhood immunization following the failures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This effort aims to reverse the decline in childhood vaccinations that has been recorded in more than 100 countries since the outbreak, due to health services, closed clinics and imported and exported vials, syringes and other medical supplies. Meanwhile, due to the emergency response, communities and families were locked down, travel and access to services and financial and human resources were limited along with access to health products. Ongoing challenges such as conflicts, climate crises, and vaccine hesitancy have contributed to declining coverage rates.

In 2021 alone, more than 25 million children will miss at least one vaccine, and epidemics of preventable diseases, including measles, diphtheria, polio, and yellow fever, are getting worse and worse. Big Catch-Up aims to protect the public from vaccine-preventable epidemics, save children’s lives and strengthen national health systems.

Calling on people and governments in every country to do their part to help reach children who miss out, The Big Catch-up focuses on the fact that three-quarters of children in 20 countries will miss out on vaccinations by 2021*.

Although levels of global coverage have declined, there have been bright spots of resilience. For example, early reports suggest that India will see a strong recovery in essential vaccinations by 2022, while Uganda has high coverage levels at the time of the outbreak. Countries have also been successful in reaching groups in vulnerable situations. For example, in Kenya, he worked with community health workers and local leaders to improve vaccination rates among nomads in the northern part of the country.

To ensure progress on childhood immunization, partners are working with countries to strengthen the health care workforce, improve health service delivery, build trust and demand for vaccination in communities, and address gaps and barriers to reintroducing immunization. In addition to monitoring childhood vaccination, a concerted effort is needed to introduce the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine to teenagers to prevent cervical cancer, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr. Theodore Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said, “Despite millions of children and adolescents missing life-saving vaccines, especially in low-income countries, these deadly diseases are on the rise. Immunization and other essential health services are a priority. Every child dies from a vaccine-preventable disease.” It doesn’t have to.

“Routine immunizations are typically the first time children enter the health system, and therefore children who do not receive early immunizations are more likely to be disconnected from health care,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “The longer we wait to reach and vaccinate these children, the more vulnerable they will be and the more likely they will be exposed to more deadly disease outbreaks. Countries, global partners and local communities must come together to strengthen services, build trust and save lives.”

Dr. Seth Berkley, chief executive of the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, said: “We cannot allow the legacy of the epidemic to undo the many years of work that has protected more and more children from deadly and preventable diseases. “Global health partners, together with governments and communities, must do everything we can to protect the lives of every child.”

“Vaccines are a public health triumph,” said Dr. Chris Elias, president of global development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Remarkable progress in ending polio and preventing infectious diseases is a direct result of thousands of committed international partners and local health workers working to vaccinate millions of children. Doubly so that all children get the vaccines they need to live healthy lives and keep future generations free from preventable diseases like polio.” We have to raise it.

Notes to editors

For more information on The Big Catch-up, visit the World Health Organization Pageof Interactive site According to the newly released UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children report and hub Partner content for World Immunization Week.

20 countries where three-quarters of unvaccinated children will live in 2021: Afghanistan, Angola, Brazil, Cameroon, Chad, DPR, DRC, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, Madagascar, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar , Tanzania, Vietnam

About the World Health Organization
Committed to the well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and promotes global efforts to give everyone an equal opportunity to live a safe and healthy life. We are a United Nations health agency that supports countries, partners and people on the front lines in 150+ locations – leading global health emergency responses, preventing disease, addressing the root causes of health issues and expanding access to medicines and health services. Our mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. www.man.int

About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s most difficult places to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. In more than 190 countries and territories, we work everywhere to build a better world for every child.

For more information about UNICEF and its work, visit: www.unicef.org
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About Gavi, the vaccine alliance
GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, is a public-private partnership that helps immunize half of the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. In the year Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped halve child mortality in 73 low-income countries, preventing an entire generation – more than 981 million babies – and more than 16.2 million future deaths. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. To understand how the pandemic has affected critical vaccination in GAVI-supported countries; Read our analysis on the common vaccination situation. Learn more at Gavi.org And connect with usFacebook, Twitter, LinkedIn And Instagram.

About the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy and productive lives, guided by the belief that every life has equal value. It focuses on improving the health of people in developing countries and empowering them to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with limited resources—have the opportunities they need to succeed in school and in life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman with co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda Gates and a board of trustees.