African leaders must prioritize the immunization of children to save lives and prevent the spread of deadly diseases. The State of the World’s Children 2023: For Every Child, Vaccination report released by UNICEF during World Immunization Week highlights the alarming decline in routine childhood immunization coverage in Eastern and Southern Africa since the COVID-19 pandemic began. This decline has resulted in over 4.6 million children missing out on life-saving vaccines in the last three years, particularly those who are marginalized and living in poverty.
Vaccines have been proven to be one of the most successful public health interventions to control deadly infections. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the weaknesses in primary healthcare services in Africa, including a lack of skilled health workers, limited access to essential supplies and equipment, weak data collection and disease surveillance capacity, shortages of key medicines and vaccines at the local level, and barriers to using available resources efficiently and effectively. As a result, urgent catch-up and recovery efforts are needed to vaccinate missed children and stop the decline.
Immunization is not just a health issue but also a political, socioeconomic, and gender issue that requires political and economic solutions. UNICEF calls on African leaders to take strong political action to reduce the gap in vaccination and ensure that all children are immunized and protected. The right policy decisions and increased budget allocations for primary healthcare for children, including immunization, in underserved communities in Africa can boost efforts towards a healthier, safer, and more prosperous continent.
The consequences of failing to vaccinate children may become more severe in years to come. The recent resurgence of measles, cholera, and poliovirus in Africa is a warning that we need to step up our efforts. Change will be too slow if we do not garner the political will to protect children against vaccine-preventable diseases. More deliberate efforts to invest in sustainable and resilient routine immunization programs will save the lives of millions of children.
Investing in immunization not only has a moral imperative but also makes economic sense. Despite shrinking national budgets in some countries, immunization must remain a priority because it is a proven strategy for reducing future healthcare costs and supporting economic growth.
While Africa can and should do more to improve vaccination, the global community also has a responsibility to make a concerted effort to align its support to national priorities and promote homegrown solutions that are culturally sensitive and respond to the needs of communities. One size fits all solutions are no longer effective, and it is time to invest in health interventions that respond to the socioeconomic needs of children and their caregivers. Donors can support by shifting from disease-specific initiatives to systems strengthening. We should find innovative ways of educating caregivers, especially fathers, and promote their involvement in routine immunization.
Vaccinating all children on the continent will require a strong commitment from governments. Political leaders must be ready for the sometimes difficult financing conversations and challenging trade-offs on how best to fund primary healthcare and immunization and how to make them more resilient to future shocks. For almost 80 years, UNICEF has worked in Africa with governments and many other partners to protect children against vaccine-preventable diseases. Our journey to save lives must continue hand in hand with our government counterparts.
In conclusion, African leaders must prioritize the immunization of children to save lives and prevent the spread of deadly diseases. The decline in routine childhood immunization coverage in Eastern and Southern Africa since the COVID-19 pandemic began is alarming, and urgent catch-up and recovery efforts are needed to vaccinate missed children and stop the decline. Immunization is not just a health issue but also a political, socioeconomic, and gender issue that requires political and economic solutions. Investing in immunization not only has a moral imperative but also makes economic sense. The global community also has a responsibility to make a concerted effort to align its support to national priorities and promote homegrown solutions that respond to the needs of communities. Vaccinating all children on the continent will require a strong commitment from governments, and political leaders must be ready for the sometimes difficult financing conversations and challenging trade-offs.