MAPPING VACCINATION

■ The World Health Organization’s Global Immunisation Vision and Strategy (GIVS) was set up to guide countries on how to immunise more people by 2015. These maps provide an insight into the progress made by the end of this period, revealing the global vaccination coverage for some key vaccinations for children: the diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid and pertussis (whooping cough) containing vaccines as well as measles-containing vaccines.

There was progress in worldwide immunisation in this period, with global coverage going above 80 per cent over the past 20 years. However, the geographic patterns of this progress are patchy and, since 2010, there has been an overall stagnation. Most recent estimates by the WHO state that global vaccination coverage has remained the same over the past few years and that 20 million children missed out on lifesaving measles, diphtheria and tetanus vaccines in 2019, especially (but not exclusively) in parts of Africa and Asia.

GIVS was followed up by the Global Vaccine

Action Plan, which aimed to ensure more equitable access to existing vaccines for people in all communities by 2020. The goal of 90 per cent global coverage for measles, diphtheria and tetanus vaccines are very unlikely to have been met, with vaccination programmes further complicated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.