June 29, 2025: Amid reports identifying India as one of the countries with the highest burden of unvaccinated children, the Union Health Ministry on Saturday highlighted a decline in the proportion of “zero dose” children—from 0.11% in 2023 to 0.06% in 2024.
Who Are ‘Zero Dose’ Children?
International health agencies define zero dose children as those who have not received even the first dose of the DTP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis) vaccine by their first birthday. According to a recent report published in The Lancet, 15.7 million children globally remained unvaccinated in 2023. India, with 1.44 million such children, ranked second after Nigeria.
The report also grouped India among eight countries accounting for more than half of the world’s zero dose children—alongside Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Indonesia, and Brazil.
India’s Response
The Union Health Ministry urged a nuanced view, pointing out that India’s large population and high vaccination coverage under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) must be taken into account. The ministry provides free immunisation to around 26 million infants and 29 million pregnant women annually.
In response to the high burden areas, the government has launched targeted campaigns to address immunisation gaps—particularly in 143 districts across 11 states. These campaigns focus on urban slums, peri-urban zones, migratory populations, hard-to-reach areas, and communities with vaccine hesitancy.
Immunisation Achievements
The ministry cited the WHO and UNICEF’s 2023 Estimates of National Immunisation Coverage (WUENIC), stating that India’s DTP-1 coverage stood at 93%, significantly higher than Nigeria’s 70% during the same period.
Additionally, the dropout rate between DTP-1 and DTP-3 has dropped from 7% in 2013 to just 2% in 2023, while measles vaccination coverage rose from 83% to 93% over the same period.
The ministry concluded that isolated data points fail to reflect the true scope of India’s immunisation progress. It emphasized the success of targeted, data-driven public health strategies in improving vaccine coverage and reducing child mortality.