Immunisation campaigns worldwide are facing growing challenges due to misinformation, rapid population growth, humanitarian crises, and significant funding cuts, health agencies have warned.

 According to the agencies (World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and Gavi) this trend has led to a resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, meningitis, and yellow fever—threatening decades of hard-won public health gains.

Also diseases like diphtheria once nearly eradicated are at risk of re-emerging, thus the need for urgent political and financial commitments to immunisation programmes.

 “Vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past five decades. But funding cuts are now putting these gains in jeopardy, with more outbreaks and higher treatment costs. Governments, especially those with limited resources, should prioritize vaccines as high-impact interventions,” says WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

According to him, one of the most press[1]ing concerns is the resurgence of measles. The number of global measles cases has increased steadily since 2021, correlating with reduced vaccination rates during the Covid-19 pandemic.

 An estimated 10.3 million measles cases were reported in 2023 20 per cent higher than in 2022. In the past year alone, 138 countries reported cases, with 61 experiencing large or disruptive outbreaks the highest number since 2019.

 Meningitis is also on the rise in Africa, with over 5,500 suspected cases and nearly 300 deaths reported in the first quarter of 2025 alone. In 2024, the continent recorded approximately 26,000 cases and 1,400 deaths across 24 countries.

Yellow fever is resurging as well, with 124 confirmed cases in 12 African countries this year, and additional cases in the Americas.

“Increasing outbreaks of highly infectious diseases are a concern for the whole world. The good news is we can fight back, and Gavi’s next strategic period has a clear plan to bolster our defenses by expanding investments in global vaccine stockpiles and rolling out targeted preventive vaccination in countries most impacted by meningitis, yellow fever and measles,” said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

 UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned that setbacks are nearing levels witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We cannot afford to lose ground,” she emphasized, urging continued investment in the Big Catch-Up initiative and broader immunization efforts to protect vulnerable populations from preventable diseases