15 July 2026
Today, Africa CDC joins the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and other partners in welcoming the release of the 2025 WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC). These estimates represent far more than annual coverage statistics: they are a measure of the resilience of our health systems, the effectiveness of our primary health care services, and our collective commitment to ensuring that every child, everywhere, has access to life-saving vaccines.
The latest WUENIC estimates tell a story of resilience, recovery, and unfinished business. In the African Continent, DTP3 coverage has steadily recovered from a low of 73% in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 77% in 2025. While this marks important progress, it is still below the pre-pandemic level of 79% in 2019, reminding us that recovery alone is not enough. More concerning is that the world is still off track to achieve the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) targets. At the midpoint of the decade, there are still 7,128,000 zero-dose children in Africa, 600,000 more than in 2019 and 3.85 million above the trajectory required to halve the number of zero-dose children by 2030. These findings underscore the urgent need to accelerate implementation, strengthen health systems, and prioritize equitable access to immunization for every child and through the life course.
We welcome the reduction of approximately 633,000 zero-dose children in 2025 compared to 2024 (7,761,000). However, Africa continues to bear the largest burden of zero-dose children globally despite modest improvements in 2025. According to the latest WHO/UNICEF WUENIC estimates, DTP1 coverage increased from 83% in 2024 to 84% in 2025. Nevertheless, 7.1 million African children still received no routine vaccine at all (DTP1) in 2025, while an additional 3.3 million children started but did not complete the DTP vaccination series. Together, this left 10.4 million children in Africa either completely unvaccinated or only partially protected against vaccine-preventable diseases. Although the number of zero-dose children has fallen from 7.8 million in 2024, it is still higher than the 6.5 million recorded in 2019.
The burden of zero-dose children is also highly concentrated geographically. Three countries alone account for more than half (50.7%) of all zero-dose children in Africa: Nigeria (30.5%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (11.1%), and Ethiopia (9.1%). Regional disparities are still pronounced, with Western Africa carrying the largest burden (2.8 million zero-dose children), followed by Eastern Africa (1.9 million), Central Africa (1.2 million), Southern Africa (1.1 million), while Northern Africa recorded just 0.1 million and is the only region on track to reach the IA2030 goals. Despite recent gains, Africa is still 46% above the annual IA2030 milestone required to halve the number of zero-dose children by 2030, placing the continent off track to achieve the Immunization Agenda 2030 target without accelerated political commitment, stronger health systems, and targeted investments to reach the most underserved communities.
These figures tell us something important: Africa’s immunization challenge now extends well beyond vaccines.
- It is about equity and access.
- It is about strong primary health care and effective delivery of essential services at every contact with the health system.
- It is about reaching communities affected by conflict, displacement, climate shocks, and fragile health systems.
- And ultimately, it is about building resilient health systems capable of protecting populations before, during and after public health emergencies.
The release of the WUENIC estimates reaffirms the importance and timeliness of the Continental Immunization Strategy (CIS), recently endorsed by African Union Member States, as Africa’s roadmap for accelerating immunization outcomes for achieving the IA2030 and Addis Declaration on Immunization. This elevates immunization to a top leadership priority across the continent.
Fully aligned with the African Health Systems Strengthening Strategy and Africa’s Health Security and Sovereignty agenda, the Continental Immunization Strategy recognizes a fundamental truth: strong immunization programmes are not a stand-alone service, but a backbone of resilient, epidemic-ready primary health care systems. As of 13 July 2026, 2,031 confirmed cases and 756 deaths from the Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda had been recorded, and we continue to intensify efforts to contain the outbreak, working with WHO and other partners. When we invest in community health workers, a skilled and motivated health workforce, digital and interoperable data systems, reliable supply chains, sustainable financing, and trusted community engagement, we are not only improving vaccine coverage: we are strengthening the very systems that protect our people every day.
Countries that can reach every child with routine immunization through strong primary health care are also better positioned to detect outbreaks early, respond rapidly to emerging threats, sustain essential services during crises, and protect communities from vaccine-preventable diseases. This is why immunization must be understood as both a life-saving intervention and a strategic investment: one that delivers high returns for child survival, outbreak prevention, health security, economic productivity, and the long-term prosperity of our continent.
The WUENIC data also reinforces several priorities that Africa CDC believes must now define Africa’s immunization agenda.
- We must ensure immunization stays a top leadership priority and dramatically accelerate efforts to identify and reach zero-dose and under immunized children through integrated primary health care, community engagement and trust, community health workers, digital innovations, local problem solving, and differentiated and innovative sub-national strategies, including in conflict-affected and fragile communities.
- Member States must continue increasing domestic investment in immunization to ensure sustainable financing and reduce dependence on external resources.
- We must strengthen routine immunization and primary health care as the foundation of epidemic preparedness, response, and resilient health systems.
- Africa must accelerate vaccine manufacturing, pooled procurement, and resilient regional supply chains to improve equitable and sustainable access to vaccines manufactured on the continent.
- We must improve accountability at every level. Data intelligence must increasingly drive decision-making. Through the CIS, Africa CDC is working with Member States to monitor progress through continental scorecards, identify bottlenecks, and accelerate action where it is needed most.
The release of WUENIC is therefore not merely an annual publication of estimates: it is a call to action. Africa must now accelerate towards a transformative agenda.
Through the delivery of the Continental Immunization Strategy, alignment with the African Health Systems Strengthening Strategy and continued investment in primary health care systems, Africa is building a future where immunization serves not only as a life-saving intervention, but as the foundation of resilient health systems and sustainable development.
Africa CDC stays committed to supporting Member States to ensure that every child is reached and every community is protected and will work in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, development partners, youth, civil society, broader stakeholders including parliamentarians, private sector, regional and global institutions to achieve this.
Let this be our collective resolve: no child should be missed, no community should be forgotten, and no country should be left without the systems, resources, and sovereignty needed to protect its people. Immunization is not only a promise to our children: it is a pillar of Africa’s health security, a driver of our prosperity, and a foundation for the future we are determined to build. Together, with urgency, solidarity, and leadership, we can turn this moment into lasting progress for every child, every community, and every nation.
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About Africa CDC
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is the public health agency of the African Union. As an autonomous institution, Africa CDC supports AU Member States in strengthening health systems, improving disease surveillance, and enhancing emergency preparedness and response. For more information, visit: http://www.africacdc.org and follow Africa CDC on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and YouTube.
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Immunization Directorate: immunizationdirectorate@africacdc.org
