The findings are part of the first-ever detailed analysis of vaccination targets in Africa, released on Wednesday by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
It also documents progress and challenges in expanding immunization coverage against a wide range of vaccine-preventable diseases, as well as ongoing efforts to achieve the goals of the global strategy known as the 2030 Immunization Agenda.
Measles deaths cut in half
The analysis covers the years 2000 to 2024, which saw an increase in vaccination coverage in Africa, as 44 countries introduced a second dose of measles vaccine into their routine programs.
Coverage rates increased from 5 percent to 55 percent during this period while additional vaccination campaigns made it possible to carry out 622 million vaccines.
Together, these efforts cut measles deaths in half in the African region and resulted in a 40 percent drop in total cases.
Additionally, nine countries reported consistently low measles incidence rates in 2023 and 2024, while Cape Verde, Mauritius and Seychelles were verified in 2025 as having eliminated measles and rubella. – the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to take this step.
Remarkable but uneven progress
“Africa has made remarkable progress in less than a generation, scaling up immunization and saving millions of young lives,” said Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO regional director.
“But progress is uneven and even slow, leaving too many children unprotected as key targets remain unmet. We urgently need to strengthen routine immunization to leave no child behind.”
Routine programs currently protect against 13 vaccine-preventable diseases, up from eight in 2000.
Since then, deaths from meningitis fell by almost 40 percentthe malaria vaccine has been introduced in 25 countries, and at least 1.9 million lives saved through vaccination in 2024 alone— about 42 percent due to measles vaccination.
“Still work to do”
The 2030 Agenda envisions a world in which all benefit fully from vaccines. It aims for 90 percent coverage at four key life stages to protect against diphtheria, pertussis (cough), measles and human papillomavirus (HPV).
Despite the progress made to date, Africa still lags behind in reaching the 90 percent target because vaccination coverage is uneven and many children are still not vaccinated.
WHO and Gavi call for continued investments and strong political commitment to sustain gains and protect future generations.
They are also working with governments to expand vaccination coverage, including to accelerate and scale up the introduction of new vaccines such as those against malaria and HPV.
The new analysis “demonstrates the immense life-saving power of vaccines when vaccination is a policy priority,” said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi.
“At the same time, we must recognize that these vaccination results reflect very different realities, and we still have work to do to ensure that we are consistently able to reach children, even in the most fragile and remote settings,” she added.
