According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, global childhood vaccination rates rose slightly in 2025. 90% of infants globally, or nearly 116 million, received at least one dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine, known as DTP, in 2025, while 85% completed all three recommended doses.
The number of unvaccinated children, also known as “zero-dose” children, fell to 13.5 million in 2025 from 14.2 million in 2024. However, this number is still nearly 4 million higher than the level needed to stay on track to halve the 2019 total by 2030.
More than half of the world’s unvaccinated children live in conflict-hit countries such as Syria, Yemen, Sudan, and Palestine, despite accounting for only about one-third of global births. The World Health Organization is already seeing the impact of funding cuts and conflict in the form of more measles, diphtheria, and cholera outbreaks.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
