Newly released data shows Somalia making notable progress in child immunization

The annual World Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC) released today reports that 70% of children in Somalia are fully vaccinated, an increase of 28% between 2012 to 2024, with steady improvements registered across all antigens since 2019.
WUENIC presents country level immunization datasets on key infant and childhood vaccinations, allowing the identification of areas where progress has been made, where opportunities remain and where immunization coverage has declined.
Somalia has invested heavily in upping coverage rates. In 2024, the accelerated Big Catch-Up initiative, spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Health and Human Services in collaboration with UNICEF and WHO, targeted zero-dose children – those who have never received a single vaccine – and children with partial (incomplete) vaccination. This year, multiple vaccination campaigns have been held, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and rotavirus vaccines introduced to address childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea, the leading causes of death in children under 5 in Somalia.
“Immunization is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions that prevents vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Minister of Health and Human Services H.E. Dr. Ali Haji Adam. “To continue strengthening the health system in Somalia we must enhance the capabilities of our frontline health workers and increase efforts to create awareness in communities about lifesaving vaccines. We all have more work to do.”