<\/p>\n
However, the continent remains off track in the fight against vaccine\u2011preventable diseases, according to a new joint analysis released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The report, published on Wednesday, is the first detailed assessment of Africa\u2019s progress against global immunisation targets and reviews developments between 2000 and 2024. It tracks advances in coverage across multiple vaccine\u2011preventable diseases, while highlighting persistent gaps that continue to leave millions of children unprotected.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The analysis shows that measles vaccination coverage has improved significantly, with 44 African countries introducing a second dose of measles\u2011containing vaccine into routine immunisation schedules. Coverage rose from just 5% in 2000 to 55% in 2024, supported by large\u2011scale supplementary campaigns that delivered 622 million vaccinations.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As a result, measles deaths across Africa have been cut by half, while overall measles cases have declined by 40%. Nine countries recorded consistently low measles incidence in 2023 and 2024, while Cabo Verde, Mauritius and the Seychelles were verified in 2025 as having eliminated measles and rubella, the first sub\u2011Saharan African nations to reach that milestone.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Despite this progress, WHO Africa Regional Director Dr Mohamed Janabi warned that gains remain uneven and are slowing in some areas. \u201cAfrica has made remarkable progress in less than a generation, but too many children remain unprotected,\u201d he said, calling for urgent strengthening of routine immunisation systems.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Routine vaccination programmes now protect against 13 diseases, up from eight in 2000. Since then, meningitis deaths have fallen by nearly 40%, malaria vaccines have been introduced in 25 countries, and 1.9 million lives were saved in 2024 alone, with measles accounting for 42% of that total.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, Africa is still far from meeting the 2030 Immunisation Agenda, which targets 90% coverage at key life stages. WHO and Gavi warned that the COVID\u201119 pandemic increased the number of \u201czero\u2011dose\u201d children, with 10 countries accounting for 80% of unvaccinated children in the region.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Calling for sustained political commitment and investment, Gavi Chief Executive Officer Dr Sania Nishtar said the findings demonstrate the life\u2011saving power of vaccines, while underscoring the need to reach children in fragile and remote settings before preventable diseases reclaim lost ground.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":32252,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-32251","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Measles vaccinations have saved nearly 20 million lives in Africa since 2000, while more than 500 million children have been protected through routine immunisation programmes. ","published_date":"","news_description":"Measles vaccinations have saved nearly 20 million lives in Africa since 2000, while more than 500 million children have been protected through routine immunisation programmes. ","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32253,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32251\/revisions\/32253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=32251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}