Unicef: Almost 13m children in Africa missed vaccinations because of Covid

A new report from Unicef says nearly 13 million children missed one or more vaccinations in Africa between 2019 and 2021 because of the disruptive impact of the Covid-19 pandemic (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi/File)

Nearly 13 million children missed one or more vaccinations in Africa between 2019 and 2021 because of the disruptive impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving the continent vulnerable to even more outbreaks of disease and facing a “child survival crisis”, a report from Unicef said on Thursday.

Amid a global “backslide” in childhood immunisation over those three years, which the United Nations Children’s Fund said is the worst regression for childhood vaccinations in 30 years, Africa is the region with the highest number of unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children.