Record Immunisation Success in Lower-Income Countries Threatened by Funding Gaps
FILE PHOTO: The Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
GENEVA, 15 July 2026 – Lower-income countries have achieved record-setting milestones in childhood immunisation, with 73 million children protected by Gavi-supported vaccines in 2025—the highest number in history. However, as the world celebrates this progress, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, warns that these gains face significant risks due to a lack of full funding for its next five-year strategic period.
The data, derived from the 2025 WHO and UNICEF estimates of national immunisation coverage (WUENIC), highlights a remarkable recovery in global health efforts. Notably, average coverage with the critical first dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine (DTP1) has returned to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, reaching 88%.
Historic Progress Amidst Challenges
Despite the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising birth cohorts, and ongoing outbreaks, global health efforts have yielded substantial results:
- Breadth of Protection: For the first time, the average coverage for a range of Gavi-supported vaccines—referred to as the “breadth of protection”—has reached 65%, placing lower-income countries on par with the rest of the world. This represents a 16 percentage point increase since 2019.
- Reaching the Unreached: The global number of “zero-dose children”—those who have never received a single vaccine—decreased by 640,000 in 2025. This reduction accounts for 85% of the global decrease, pushing figures nearly back to 2019 levels.
- Fragile Contexts: Some of the most challenging environments saw the greatest improvements. In 12 countries categorized as experiencing fragility and conflict, DTP3 coverage rose by 5 percentage points, reaching 66%. Sudan, in particular, saw a notable 32 percentage point improvement.
- Targeted Successes: Efforts against cervical cancer and malaria have exceeded expectations. Lower-income countries have protected 95 million girls with the HPV vaccine, surpassing Gavi’s 2025 target of 86 million. Additionally, malaria vaccines have been rolled out across 25 African nations, with countries like Ghana and Burkina Faso already reporting significant reductions in malaria-related child deaths and hospitalizations.
The Looming Funding Crisis
While the report celebrates these achievements, it serves as a stark warning. 2025 marked the final fully-funded year of Gavi’s current work. As the Alliance moves into its 2026-2030 strategic period, the lack of full funding threatens to stall this momentum.
“The historic levels of immunisation that we are seeing across lower income countries shows what can be achieved when all stakeholders work together towards a shared objective,” said Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “As Gavi heads into a new five-year period, our great challenge now will be to maintain this momentum in the face of funding constraints, geopolitical uncertainty, and increasing outbreaks.”
Without necessary financial backing, Gavi warns that countries may be forced to make difficult choices, potentially reducing investments in key areas such as preventive vaccination campaigns, new hexavalent and multivalent meningitis vaccines, and global vaccine stockpiles.
As the Alliance shifts its focus toward countries most in need, it faces the ongoing challenge of reaching the remaining 9.5 million zero-dose children in lower-income settings. Gavi is calling on sovereign and philanthropic donors to prioritize sustained investment in immunisation, emphasizing that vaccines remain one of the most cost-effective tools for global health, security, and prosperity.
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