Philippines achieves immunization milestone, no longer in top 20 for unvaccinated children

The Philippines is no longer in the top five list of countries with unvaccinated children, according to an October 23 press statement by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Philippines.

In 2020 to 2022, the Philippines ranked fifth in the world among countries with the most zero-dose children.

The 2023 WHO/UNICEF Immunization Coverage Estimates reported that the Philippines improved significantly and is no longer part of the top 20 countries, having reduced unvaccinated children to 163,000 from 1 million.

“This milestone should fuel our resolve to vaccinate even more children, especially those who remain vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases like polio, measles, diphtheria, and pertussis,” said UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov, in an October 23 press statement.

“UNICEF remains committed to support the government and its partners in sustaining this progress so that every child in the Philippines can live a healthy life,” he said.

At risk still is polio, with 24 out of the country’s 81 provinces still considered high-risk, the 2022-2023 WHO Polio Risk Assessment showed.

The country’s weighted risk points nevertheless improved to 36 from the previous 39.

Polio, caused by a virus that affects the nervous system, can lead to paralysis in a matter of hours.

The Department of Health (DoH)’s two-year immunization acceleration plan commits to achieving the status of fully immunized children to 90% by 2025.

“Vaccination remains our strongest armor to protect children for life,” said Dr. Rui Paulo de Jesus, a WHO representative, in the same press statement.

“Together with the DoH and partners, our goal is a country and a world where no child is ever paralyzed by polio again, and the infrastructure and systems we’ve built to fight it continue to benefit global health and ensure that children are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases,” he added. – Patricia B. Mirasol