Developing a global immunisation strategy 2021-2030

Immunization is a success story for global health and development, saving millions of lives every year. Between 2010 and 2018, 23 million deaths were averted with measles vaccine alone. The number of infants vaccinated annually – more than 116 million, or 86% of all infants born – has reached the highest level ever reported. More than 20 life-threatening diseases can now be prevented by immunization. Since 2010, 116 countries have introduced vaccines that they did not use previously, including those against major killers like pneumococcal pneumonia, diarrhoea, cervical cancer, typhoid, cholera and meningitis.

Furthermore, there has been much innovation in vaccine development. There are now vaccines to protect against malaria, dengue and Ebola virus disease, and promising vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus, tuberculosis and all influenza virus strains are in the pipeline. New research on broadly neutralizing antibodies and therapeutic vaccines is opening fresh horizons. Increasingly, vaccines are protecting health beyond infancy – in adolescence and adulthood, during pregnancy and for older people.