A child receives a dose of oral polio vaccine (OPV) in one of the Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio (SPKP) drives
MANILA 24 October, 2024 – Today, on World Polio Day, World Health Organization and UNICEF Philippines commends the Philippine government for reducing the number of children without a single dose of vaccines in the country. The UN children’s agency also welcomes the success of the school-based immunization programme to vaccinate 4.8 million children enrolled in public schools against measles, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, and human papillomavirus.
From 2020 to 2022, the Philippines was the fifth country in the world with the highest number of zero-dose or unvaccinated children, at 1 million. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)/UNICEF Immunization Coverage Estimates published in 2023, the Philippines is no longer part of the top 20 countries with the most zero-dose children, having reduced it from 1 million to 163,000.
“UNICEF commends the Philippine government’s steadfast dedication to leave no child behind. Its decisive leadership and immediate prioritization of immunization have reaped promising results. This milestone should fuel our resolve to vaccinate even more children, especially those who remain vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases like polio, measles, diphtheria, and pertussis. UNICEF remains committed to support the government and its partners in sustaining this progress so that every child in the Philippines can live a healthy life,” says UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov.
Despite this achievement, the WHO Polio Risk Assessment in 2022-2023 still puts the Philippines at high-risk, with 36 weighted risk points(1). Although this is an improvement from the 39 weighted risk points previously, the assessment is still concerning since polio is a highly infectious disease that can cause permanent disability or death, especially among children. The most recent polio outbreak in the country was declared in 2019 and ended in 2021.
"Vaccination remains our strongest armour to protect children for life. Together with the Department of Health and partners, our goal is a country and a world where no child is ever paralyzed by polio again, and the infrastructure and systems we’ve built to fight it continue to benefit global health and ensure that children are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases,” said WHO Representative Dr. Rui Paulo de Jesus.
Early this year, the Philippines also endured Pertussis outbreaks in several parts of the country and a measles outbreak in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Outbreaks of deadly, vaccine-preventable diseases can only end once coverage rate across all vaccine antigens reach 95 percent. As of 2023, only 62 per cent of eligible children are considered fully immunized or have received three doses of oral polio vaccine, two doses of measles-containing vaccine, and three doses of pentavalent vaccine before they reach 12 months. This is a slight improvement from 60 per cent in 2022(2).
UNICEF works with all levels of government and its partners in the Philippines to invest in health systems by addressing supply chain issues, training health workers and social mobilizers, enhancing health information systems, data, and surveillance, increasing demand and coalition building with partners, supporting local governments so that they can provide strategic policy and funding for immunization as a key component of primary health care and other essential health services. #
Notes to the Editor:
(1) World Health Organization – Regional Office for the Western Pacific. 2023. Annual Progress Report on Sustaining Polio-Free Status (Philippines). Page 57.
(2) FHSIS 2023 and 2022.
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