The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa has called for renewed commitment to immunisation across the continent, as Africa marks African Vaccination Week 2026 from April 24 to 30.
Under the theme “For Every Generation, Vaccines Work,” the WHO highlighted that vaccines prevent about 1.8 million deaths annually in Africa, protecting not just children but people at every stage of life.
Since 2000, nearly 500 million African children have been reached through routine immunisation, while newer interventions—such as HPV vaccines for adolescent girls and maternal vaccines—are expanding protection across age groups.
The agency also pointed to key milestones, including the elimination of measles and rubella in Cabo Verde, Mauritius, and Seychelles—the first countries in the WHO African Region to achieve this feat. It further noted progress in malaria vaccine rollouts across 25 countries and the recovery of routine immunisation coverage to pre-pandemic levels.
Despite these gains, WHO raised concerns that about 6.7 million children in the region remain “zero-dose”—having received no routine vaccines—while another 9.5 million are under-immunised, particularly in conflict-affected and hard-to-reach areas.
The organisation stressed that immunisation remains a cornerstone of primary healthcare and a critical driver of economic growth, noting that every dollar invested in childhood vaccines yields up to $44 in economic returns.
As the continent reaches the midpoint of the Immunization Agenda 2030, WHO urged governments and partners to increase domestic funding, strengthen health systems, and ensure equitable access to vaccines.
