Arya News - The country vaccinated more children in 2025 and reduced the number of "zero-dose" children, though millions worldwide still lack lifesaving vaccines due to conflict, poverty and vaccine hesitancy.
JAKARTA – More children in Indonesia are receiving lifesaving vaccines than ever before, according to a new report by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, reflecting a broader global recovery in childhood immunization since the COVID-19 pandemic despite persistent challenges, including vaccine hesitancy.
According to the 2025 WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC), coverage for the third dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTP3) and the third dose of the hepatitis B vaccine (HepB3) both increased from 78 percent in 2024 to 82 percent in 2025.
By last year, more than 3.6 million Indonesian children had received the full course of both vaccines.
The report also found that more children had been reached through immunization services, with an estimated 657,000 children who did not receive any doses in 2025 compared to 748,000 a year earlier.
“Indonesia’s progress shows what is possible when we work together to reach children with lifesaving vaccines,” WHO country representative N. Paranietharan said in a statement on Tuesday, though he noted that many children were still not being vaccinated against diseases such as measles, polio and pneumonia.
He emphasized that sustaining progress would require stronger routine immunization services, greater outreach to underserved communities and continued investment in vaccination programs.
“Together, we can achieve the Immunization Agenda 2030 goal of leaving no one behind,” Paranietharan said.
UNICEF Indonesia representative Maniza Zaman said immunization remained one of the most effective public health interventions and a cornerstone of every child’s right to good health.
“We congratulate the government of Indonesia, health workers and communities across the country for the notable progress made in reducing the number of zero-dose children,” she said.
Zaman attributed the recent gains in vaccine coverage to strong government leadership and community engagement, stressing that those efforts must continue to ensure that every child received lifesaving vaccines.
The WHO/UNICEF report also pointed to gradual, global progress in immunization coverage while warning that conflict and vaccine hesitancy continued to threaten children’s health.
Globally, around 85 percent, or 110 million children, completed the three-dose DTP vaccine series in 2025, up 1 percentage point (pp) from the previous year but still below pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
An estimated 13.5 million infants did not receive even one vaccine during their first year of life in 2025, around 750,000 fewer than the previous year. However, the report noted that gain could be offset by children who began but failed to complete their vaccination schedules.
Around 7.3 million children received their first DTP dose but dropped out before receiving their first measles vaccine. As a result, global measles vaccination coverage remained stalled at 84 percent for the first dose and 77 percent for the second, well below the 95 percent threshold needed to prevent outbreaks.
Fifty-seven countries reported measles outbreaks in 2025, the report said.
“Governments and health workers have helped global vaccination rates bounce back after dropping significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic,” UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said in a statement released on July 15, the same day as the report’s launch.
“But millions of vulnerable children are still being left unprotected due to conflict, displacement and poverty. We must reach every child, and we must rebuild trust where it is fraying. No child should suffer from a disease that a simple vaccine can prevent.”
Both United Nations agencies warned that immunization coverage remained under pressure, even in countries where vaccines were readily available, because of “shifting political commitment, structural challenges or rising hesitancy”.
For example, first-dose DTP coverage in South Africa had fallen 20 pp since 2019, while first-dose measles coverage in Bosnia and Herzegovina had dropped 23 pp over the same period.
“Every child, whether born into wealth or poverty, peace or conflict, deserves the lifesaving protection that vaccines provide,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“Immunization is one of the most cost-effective, equitable and reliable interventions for protecting children’s health and well-being.”