Immunisation of children in Bangladesh bounces back to pre-Covid-19 levels along with other four neighbouring South Asian countries including Bhutan, Pakistan, India and the Maldives.
Among the eight South Asian countries, these five nations have fully recovered to their pre-Covid-19 coverage levels while Sri Lanka and Nepal have made significant strides towards achieving complete recovery but are yet to fully catch up.
UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointly revealed the data on Tuesday.
“In Bangladesh, there were several digital health interventions, including eTracker, GIS-based eMicroplanning and child biometry for immunisation, to improve access and make it easier for parents to get their children vaccinated,” it said.
Besides, it said that immunisation services in South Asia reached 1.96 million more children in 2022 compared to the previous year, as countries stepped up efforts to address the historic backsliding in immunisation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and save children’s lives.
In 2022, the coverage of the third dose of the Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus vaccine (DTP3) increased by 6 percentage points, from 85 per cent in 2021 to 91 per cent in South Asia. The DTP vaccine is used as the global marker for immunisation coverage.
Meanwhile, according to the data, in 2022, India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal had the highest percentage reductions in the number of children who were not vaccinated at all, with a decrease of 58 per cent, 50 per cent and 38 per cent respectively.
In India, the number of children without any vaccines decreased from 2.7 million in 2021 to 1.13 million in 2022, it said.
“Despite the progress, an estimated 3 million children out of 34 million surviving infants in South Asia did not receive the three recommended doses of DTP vaccine and are not fully vaccinated. Even within countries, disparities exist which require targeted interventions to vaccinate children,” it added.
“South Asia’s progress to catch up with life-saving vaccinations is tremendous news for the children in the region who now have a better chance of being protected against deadly diseases such as measles, tetanus and more,” said UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, Noala Skinner.
“We owe this progress to the leadership of countries, the investment of donors and partners, the tenacity of millions of vaccinators and the commitment of parents to get their children vaccinated despite several challenges during and after the COVID-19 pandemic waves,” Skinner added.
