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Imagine two babies entering the world on the same day. One is born in Oslo, Norway, and the other in rural Chad. They take their first breaths almost at the same moment, but their chances of surviving basic and preventable diseases are completely different. By their first birthday, the child in Oslo will likely have every recommended vaccine, around a dozen routine doses. The child in Chad might not get any.
This is not just a scenario we’ve seen in the past. It’s happening right now, and is an issue that continues to divide the world long after the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite countless promises to ensure “no one is left behind,” it remains one of the world’s most urgent injustices that millions of children are left without lifesaving vaccines each year.
In July 2025, it was found that 89% of infants worldwide received at least one dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) vaccine in 2024. While that number may sound encouraging, the reality is disappointing. Over 14 million infants, the remaining 11%, have never received a single vaccine, which experts also call “zero-dose” children. Most of these children live in low-income countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia, where healthcare systems remain undeveloped.
Access to vaccines is often interconnected to access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunity. In remote or conflict-affected regions, families may live days away from the nearest clinic. Even when they make the journey, unreliable electricity can make vaccine storage systems useless, spoiling necessary doses.
Meanwhile, wealthier countries benefit from a variety of technologies and consistent funding. During the pandemic, this divide became painfully clear. High-income countries secured vaccines at rates far beyond their populations’ needs, while developing nations waited months or even years for shipments through COVAX, the global vaccine-sharing initiative. Wealthier nations also rely on technologies such as ultra-cold storage networks and digital immunization efforts, tools that dramatically improve vaccine delivery and tracking.
But vaccine inequality did not end with this pandemic. Even as global vaccination rates slowly recover, the same countries that were left behind during COVID-19 continue to face the greatest gaps in routine immunization. Diseases like measles and polio, once on the verge of elimination in many regions, have resurged in places where coverage has collapsed or failed to rebuild such as recent measles outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and resurgent polio cases in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Solving this crisis requires more than one-time donations of vaccine doses. It requires investment in infrastructure, local manufacturing, and public trust. While global organizations can deliver vaccines, only strong national systems such as health data systems can sustain them.
Combating vaccine hesitancy is equally important. In wealthier regions, misinformation and distrust have led to skepticism, while in poorer countries, the lack of information and historical neglect have created uncertainty.
The WHO’s Immunization Agenda 2030 envisions a world where everyone, everywhere, benefits from vaccines. However, as of 2025, the world is off track with four million children remaining unvaccinated, more than global targets allow. Every missed dose represents a life we failed to protect.
Still, progress is possible. Despite limited resources, countries such as Rwanda and Bangladesh have achieved high immunization rates through investment in community health workers and supply chains. Their successes prove that equity is not an unreachable goal. It’s a matter of commitment and cooperation.
Every child deserves the same chance to grow and thrive, no matter where they are born. Until that promise is kept, the world will continue to be divided in inequity.
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