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Dear Colleagues,
CORE Group, alongside our partner Pathfinder International, is proud to collaborate towards a future where “Immunization for All” is not just a possibility, but a reality. We are committed to strengthening community health systems, advocating for equitable vaccine access, and working together to save even more lives.
From April 24 to 30, we join the global community in observing World Immunization Week 2025—a vital moment to highlight the life-saving power of immunization. This year’s theme, “Immunization for All is Humanly Possible,” reinforces our shared commitment to ensuring that every person, everywhere, has access to vaccines that protect against preventable diseases.
Vaccines have been one of humanity’s most remarkable achievements. Since 1974, they have saved 154 million lives—over 3 million lives each year. This incredible progress has reduced infant deaths by 40%, with more children living to see their first birthday than at any other time in history. The measles vaccine alone accounts for 60% of those lives saved.
However, despite the significant strides we have made, millions of children still miss out on immunization each year. In the face of work stop orders and uncertain foreign aid funding, the importance of immunization has never been clearer. Sustaining global vaccination efforts requires not only continued scientific progress but also consistent financial and political commitment to ensure vaccines reach those who need them most.
The introduction of vaccines for diseases such as malaria, HPV, cholera, dengue, meningitis, RSV, Ebola, and Mpox highlights the remarkable progress in science and medicine that continues to shape the future of global health.
Yet, despite these advances, millions of children still miss out on life-saving immunizations each year. In the context of work stoppages and uncertain foreign aid funding, the critical importance of immunization has never been more evident. Sustaining global vaccination efforts demands not only ongoing scientific innovation but also unwavering financial and political commitment. It is essential that we continue to advocate for the resources needed to ensure vaccines reach the communities that need them most.
As we reach the midpoint of the Immunization Agenda 2030, World Immunization Week provides an opportunity to not only reflect on the gains we have made but also to look forward to the progress that lies ahead. The next few decades offer the potential to expand immunization efforts, ensuring that more children receive essential vaccines and that new vaccines continue to emerge for a wider range of diseases and age groups.
Let’s continue this important work and show the world that immunization for all is indeed humanly possible.
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Join CORE Group and Pathfinder International as we raise awareness about the importance of immunization. Connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook to share how you are contributing to healthier futures for women and newborns. Use the hashtags #VaccinesWork #GetVaccinated #HumanlyPossible #ImmunizationSavesLives # ImmunizationWeek2025 and tag @COREGroupDC and @PathfinderIntl to be part of the conversation.
To help you amplify your impact during World Immunization Week, we invite you to download our Immunization Week Social Media Toolkit—featuring suggested posts, graphics, and key messages designed to inspire action and support your advocacy efforts.
We encourage you to share photos, stories, or videos that highlight the positive changes your organization is driving through immunization. Together, let’s showcase how vaccines are building a healthier, more equitable future.
| | Spotlight on Our Members and Partners | | |
Organized by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, and their partners, this session will spotlight the remarkable progress of Chad, Somalia, and South Sudan in introducing pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), rotavirus vaccine, and/or malaria vaccines into their national immunization programs.
Health leaders from the Ministries of Health in these countries will share their powerful stories of how commitments made during the 2nd Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia in 2023 have been translated into impactful action—through collaboration with local, national, and global partners.
The session will highlight key achievements, lessons learned, and the vision for sustaining and expanding these efforts. Register here.
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Shot@Life, a campaign by the United Nations Foundation, issued a statement from Senior Director Cara Ciullo regarding the proposed withdrawal of U.S. support for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Early in the Administration’s review of foreign assistance, Shot@Life was encouraged by commitments to maintain lifesaving aid. However, there are growing concerns about reports that the Administration now intends to end U.S. support for vital global health and immunization programs, including Gavi.
Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has immunized over 1 billion children and saved more than 18 million lives. Its collaborative approach has helped 19 countries fully take ownership of their immunization programs, promoting sustainability and self-sufficiency.
Discontinuing U.S. support for Gavi would jeopardize these achievements and endanger the health of millions of children, while also weakening U.S. national security. Withdrawing support for global immunization efforts that prevent diseases like mpox and Ebola could also pose a threat to American health.
Shot@Life urges members of Congress to ensure the $300 million authorized for Gavi in Fiscal Year 2025 is allocated and to strongly support Gavi’s request for $340 million for Fiscal Year 2026. Learn about the campaign here.
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Organized by the Pan American Health Organization, this webinar titled "Knowing the Facts: How Communicators Can Identify and Respond to Vaccine Misinformation" will provide practical guidance for those working in public health communication. The session will equip participants with tools to recognize vaccine misinformation and develop effective strategies to address it.
This is a valuable opportunity for communicators, journalists, and health professionals to strengthen their response to misinformation and support vaccine confidence across communities. Register here.
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In celebration of Immunization Week, the Sabin Vaccine Institute is launching Season 2 of its Getting to Zero discussion series, featuring global immunization leaders sharing strategies to eliminate deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases.
This season introduces a new rotation of hosts—Sabin Rising Star Award recipients Dr. Sangwe Clovis Nchinjoh, Nginache Nampota-Nkomba, and Dr. Nicole E. Basta —who will lead insightful peer-to-peer conversations focused on reaching zero-dose communities through innovation and collaboration.
Audiences are encouraged to subscribe to Sabin’s YouTube channel to follow the series and stay informed throughout the season. Watch here.
| | | Explore these Resources for Immunization Week 2025 | | |
WHO: Human-Centred Design for Tailoring Immunization Programmes (HCD-TIP)
WHO has developed a practical guide for a participatory approach to working with communities to close coverage gaps and overcome inequities in vaccination. HCD-TIP enhances the ability of programs to listen and learn to better respond to community needs.
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The Lancet: Routine Immunization- Reversing the Decline
The Lancet highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic while underscoring the importance of vaccines, disrupted global immunization efforts. Routine vaccination rates declined, with DTP3 coverage dropping from 86% in 2019 to 81% in 2021—the lowest since 2008. In that year alone, 25 million children missed essential vaccines, and 18 million received none at all.
As a response, World Immunization Week urges a global push to catch up on missed immunizations and restore coverage to pre-pandemic levels, though significant challenges remain.
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UNICEF: Immunization Roadmap To 2030
The UNICEF Immunization Roadmap 2022–2030 outlines UNICEF’s priorities for immunization through 2030. It explores how these priorities contribute to overarching strategic goals for health and health systems strengthening, including for pandemic preparedness.
It presents a strategic approach to addressing the setbacks that immunization programmes are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to accelerate progress towards the achievement of global immunization goals by 2030.
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Current and Planned Vaccine Manufacturing in Africa: Results from a Joint Assessment by Africa CDC, CHAI, and PATH
Africa CDC, CHAI, and PATH conducted a joint assessment of vaccine manufacturing across Africa, reviewing production capacity, technical capabilities, and support functions like regulation and finance.
They engaged 19 manufacturers—both commercial-scale and early-stage—as well as global originator companies exploring technology transfers. Capacity estimates were given in ranges due to uncertainties in antigens and dosing.
The team used 2030 as a benchmark for vaccine demand and referenced 2040 in line with the PAVM Framework, which aims for Africa to produce 60% of its routine immunization needs by then.
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Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: A key tool to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
Gavi has developed a new tool to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a pressing global health threat. With drug-resistant bacterial infections causing an estimated 1.27 million deaths annually worldwide, AMR demands urgent action.
This insight paper highlights the importance of immunization in reducing AMR and offers targeted recommendations for governments, the international health community, civil society, and academia.
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Advancing Immunization in Africa: Overcoming Challenges to Achieve the 2030 Global Immunization Targets
This NIH review highlights progress and ongoing challenges in Africa’s efforts to meet the 2030 Global Immunization Targets. As of 2022, full immunization coverage in the WHO African Region is 56.5%, with 8.4% of children receiving no vaccines.
From 2019 to 2021, 67 million children missed routine vaccinations, especially in West and Central Africa.
Key barriers include low parental education, religious beliefs, weak health systems, and vaccine hesitancy. The review calls for community-driven approaches, stronger health infrastructure, and increased funding.
The Immunization Agenda 2030 urges country-led, data-driven strategies to expand equitable vaccine access and close coverage gaps.
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