Johannesburg: Because of the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 13 million children in Africa missed one or more vaccinations between 2019 and 2021, leaving the continent vulnerable to additional disease outbreaks and facing a "child survival crisis," according to a new UNICEF report released on Thursday.

Africa is the region with the highest number of unvaccinated and undervaccinated children, despite a global "backslide" in childhood immunisation over those three years, which the United Nations Children's Fund described as the worst regression for childhood vaccinations in 30 years.

According to UNICEF, 8.7 million African children did not receive even one dose of any vaccine between 2019 and 2021, while 12.7 million missed one or more vaccinations.

Also Read: TV host, ex-marine, and senior army figures support Afghan pilot's application to remain in the UK

The report, titled "The State of the World's Children 2023," supports earlier findings and presents new information that the pandemic "interrupted childhood vaccination almost everywhere," according to UNICEF.

According to UNICEF, half of the 20 nations with the greatest proportion of "zero-dose" children — children who have not received any vaccinations — are in Africa. 2.2 million children in Nigeria have never had a vaccination. 1.1 million Ethiopians lack vaccinations for common diseases.

The UNICEF report is released as disease outbreaks on a scale not seen in years are reported in Africa and other parts of the world as well. The worst cholera outbreak in Malawi, a country in southern Africa, in 20 years claimed more than 1,000 lives at the beginning of the year. In Zimbabwe last year, a measles outbreak resulted in close to 700 child deaths. According to authorities, the majority of the children in Zimbabwe were not immunised against the illness.

Also Read:  UN sprays Congo helicopters with orange paint to ward off assaults

Missed vaccinations occurred all over the world, according to UNICEF, as a result of "intense demands on health systems, the diversion of immunisation resources to COVID-19 vaccination, health worker shortages, and stay-at-home measures." Conflicts, climate change, and vaccine reluctance also contributed.

However, the pandemic in Africa revealed and made worse the "lack of resilience and persistent weaknesses in health systems and primary health care," according to UNICEF.

According to UNICEF, there is a "child survival crisis" on the continent, with outbreaks of diseases like measles, cholera, and poliovirus occurring in 34 of Africa's 54 countries last year.

According to Mohamed M. Fall, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, the resurgence of those diseases should serve as a stark warning for Africa.

"African leaders must take strong political action now to reduce the vaccination gap and make sure that all children are immunised and protected," he said.

Also Read:  In light of the impending reform EU lawmakers demand mandatory hosting of migrants

In order to stop further outbreaks of deadly diseases, UNICEF noted that children born just before or during the pandemic were now past the age at which they would typically receive vaccinations. UNICEF emphasised the need for health authorities to "catch up" with those missed vaccinations.

The World Health Organisation released its assessment on Thursday as well. According to it, Africa needs to immunise 33 million kids by 2025 in order to get "back on track" and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic's "disruptive wake."