Context: India ranked second after Nigeria in the number of unvaccinated or “zero-dose” children in 2023, according to a new Lancet study based on Global Burden of Disease data.
About Zero-Dose Children:
- The term “zero-dose children” refers to children who did not receive even a single dose of any routine childhood vaccination.
- In 2023, 1.44 million Indian children fell into this category.
Key Findings from the Lancet Report:
- India is second globally (after Nigeria’s 2.5 million) in total number of zero-dose children.
- These unvaccinated children are primarily located in eight countries, which collectively host over 50% of the global burden.
- The Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) in India covers 12 diseases, yet implementation gaps persist.
Trends and Challenges:
- Global zero-dose children declined from 58.8 million (1980) to 14.7 million (2019).
- However, numbers remain high in India due to COVID-19 disruption, vaccine hesitancy, and access inequality.
- Measles vaccine coverage declined in 100 countries (2010–2019), including India.
Relevance in UPSC Exam:
- GS Paper 2 (Governance & Social Justice):
- Health policy failures, Universal Immunisation Programme performance, challenges in last-mile delivery.
- GS Paper 3 (Public Health & Development):
- Disease prevention, impact of COVID-19 on health systems, international comparisons.
- Essay/GS1 (Society):
- Inequities in child health, role of misinformation, healthcare access in rural/urban divide.
