The Facts

• Data published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF purports that an additional 2.7M children were under or un-vaccinated in 2023 compared to 2019, based on their analysis of immunization trends for 14 diseases.

• The number of children who haven't received a single dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccine — a benchmark figure for child immunization — went from 12.8M pre-pandemic to 14.5M in 2023, while 6.5M did not receive their final, third dose of the shot.

• Global conflicts were a key factor in the declining rates, with the number of children receiving no doses of the vaccine in Sudan increasing to around 701K in 2023 compared to 101K in 2021. The goal to halve the number of "zero-dose" children worldwide by 2030 is now off-track, the WHO says.