Vaccination backslide

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The Covid-19 pandemic caused a staggering 23 million children to miss out on basic childhood vaccines in 2020, which was the highest number recorded since 2009. According to a 2024 WHO report, global immunisation efforts were yet to fully recover, with vaccination rates for diseases like diphtheria, tetanus and measles remaining well below 2019 levels. And now, a new crisis threatens to derail progress almost as much as the pandemic did — the US aid funding cuts.

Trump's 'America First' policy, which introduced sizeable aid funding cuts, has already impacted numerous global humanitarian efforts. These include environmental protection and conservation work, aid for crisis impacted people, support for refugees of war-stricken countries, and, in Pakistan's case, HIV/AIDs prevention.

Outbreaks of infectious diseases including meningitis, measles and yellow fever, have been increasing globally at an alarming rate, but low and lower-middle income countries are taking substantial hits. This is especially concerning news for Pakistan, which has not yet achieved key goals of polio eradication and measles despite ongoing efforts for prevention and vaccination.

It is a saddening state of affairs that despite decades of progress in science and modern medicine, the world is still grappling with preventable diseases.

According to a joint release by WHO, Unicef and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the US stands to risk similar outcomes in the childhood vaccination backslide — a crisis caused by the US funding cuts. This is not merely a health crisis, but a political and moral failure. The ripple effects of reduced funding threaten to undo years of collaborative progress for today's as well as future generations.

Pakistan now faces an even steeper climb towards disease prevention and immunisation efforts. With international funding no longer a sustainable and reliable option, the government must enact an action plan that prioritises domestic investment in public health infrastructure and outreach.