Pakistan registers progress in routine childhood immunisation
Pakistan,
5th August, 2022:
The latest WUENIC estimates of national immunisation coverage reveals
that Pakistan improved its national routine childhood immunisation rates in
2021 and reduced the number of
‘zero-dose’ children (ZDC) who miss out on vaccines by nearly half – a strong
recovery after the number of ZDC in the country rose significantly in 2020.
The percentage of children in
Pakistan who received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus
and pertussis (DTP3) – a key proxy to measure for immunisation coverage, and
the reach of health systems, within and across countries – rose to 83% in 2021,
which is close to pre-pandemic levels, after experiencing a decline in 2020
(77%). Pakistan has also improved its first dose measles vaccine coverage by 2%
between 2018 and 2021, and in 2021 launched
one of the biggest measles-rubella campaigns in history.
The country’s progress in
childhood vaccination and reducing zero-dose children is remarkable at a time
when the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted essential health services,
including routine immunisation, around the world. Zero-dose children are those
that miss out on even a single dose of a basic routine vaccine, meaning that
reaching them – and the missed communities they live in – improves the ability
of the health system to protect its population.
Pakistan achieved these
impressive results by maintaining and restoring immunisation services through,
public-private partnerships for service delivery, 24/7 immunisation services in
hospitals, integrated immunisation service delivery and extended evening and
weekend vaccination in urban slums, amongst other collaborative efforts with
partners.
Its progress is an example of how
countries can maintain, restore and expand routine immunisation, while
remaining committed to fighting the COVID-19
pandemic. With support from Gavi and COVAX, the country has also vaccinated
close to 130 million people (around 56% of the total population) with a primary series of two doses.
Following a global rollout of
historic scale – with more than 4 billion COVID-19 vaccines rolled out by
lower-income countries – Gavi and partners will be focused on supporting
countries’ efforts to integrate COVID-19 into routine immunization programmes,
leveraging opportunities to increase uptake, demand and delivery of life saving
vaccines – and supporting the road to recovery and expansion of coverage.
Dr.
Tokunbo Oshin, Director of High Impact Countries at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
comments on Pakistan’s progress:
“Pakistan has demonstrated its
resilience and commitment to immunisation through the impressive progress it
has achieved in expanding childhood vaccinations at a time when essential
health services, including routine immunisation, have been disrupted by COVID-19
pandemic.
The reduction in the number of
zero-dose children is particularly significant given the reduced access to
vaccination centres during the pandemic, and the multiple health priorities the
country had to attend to. It underscores the persistence of the government,
health workers and partners who have pushed forward and improved the reach of
immunisation programmes while continuing to ensure COVID-19 remains a priority.
We as a Vaccine Alliance will
continue to work with Pakistan and other countries to ensure the greatest
number of people can access the life-saving protection of vaccines.”
Please feel free to quote. For
further comments, questions, or interviews: media@gavi.org
Facts and Figures:
·
DTP1
– the first dose of the DTP vaccine – is a key measure of how many children
receive that first, critical dose of a vaccine. In Pakistan, the number of ZDC
increased significantly in 2020 – to 1 million children. However, through
concerted efforts to reach ZDC, Pakistan cut this number in half – improving
DTP1 coverage from 77% in 2020 to 83% in 2021.
·
Pakistan has
received about 111 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from COVAX (as of 26th
July), representing approximately a third of the supply to the country.
·
Find
out more about Gavi’s work in Pakistan, here.
·
For expert
insights and original content and stories from around the world, visit Gavi’s
online digital platform Vaccines Work.
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