Big Catch-Up Gave Vaccines to 18.3 Million Children, but Many Still Miss Shots
Introduction
A big campaign called the Big Catch-Up gave more than 100 million vaccine doses to about 18.3 million children. The children were one to five years old. The campaign worked in 36 countries in Africa and Asia. It started in April 2023 and ended in March 2026. The goal was to help children who did not get vaccines because of COVID-19. The World Health Organization, UNICEF, and Gavi said the campaign is close to its target. They want to reach at least 21 million children.
Main Body
The campaign helped children who missed vaccines. During COVID-19, health systems had problems. Many children did not get vaccines. Diseases like measles and polio came back. Between 2023 and 2025, about 12.3 million children had never received any vaccine. 15 million children had not received a measles vaccine. The campaign gave 23 million polio vaccine doses. The 36 countries have 60% of all children who never got a vaccine. The campaign focused on children aged one to five. These children were too old for baby vaccines. For the first time, countries used their normal vaccine systems to find and vaccinate these older children. Countries changed rules, trained health workers, and talked to communities. Twelve countries reached more than 60% of children who missed the first DTP vaccine. Ethiopia alone reached over 2.5 million children with DTP1. It gave almost 5 million polio doses and over 4 million measles doses. But the agencies said catch-up is not enough. In 2024, about 14.3 million babies did not get any routine vaccine. Measles outbreaks grew. In 2024, there were about 11 million measles cases. More countries had big outbreaks. The agencies said this happened because many children still miss routine measles vaccines. Also, some communities trust vaccines less now. Officials talked about other problems. Kate O''Brien from WHO said vaccines are becoming political. Sania Nishtar from Gavi said social media spreads false information. Ephrem Lemango from UNICEF said anti-vaccine content has its own economy. He also said funding cuts hurt vaccine services. The U.S. decided to give less money to Gavi. This could stop progress.
Conclusion
The Big Catch-Up showed that with money and effort, countries can vaccinate older children. But many babies still miss routine vaccines every year. Measles outbreaks are rising. Funding is going down. False information about vaccines spreads. The agencies say we need to make routine vaccine systems stronger. This is the best way to protect children and stop future outbreaks.