Due to war, Sudan has the lowest childhood vaccine coverage in the world.

July 16, 2025 (PEN) The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that the conflict in Sudan has caused vaccination rates in the country to fall to their lowest levels in 40 years, putting children at grave risk from deadly, preventable diseases.

More than half of the infants—at least 880,000 children—who were scheduled to receive their first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP1) vaccine in Sudan last year did not receive it, according to data released by the World Health Organization and UNICEF on Tuesday.

According to the organization, the DTP vaccine is used as a global indicator of vaccine coverage. Infants who do not receive any dose of DTP are classified as "doseless children" and face life-threatening risks. It stated that Sudan currently has the lowest DTP1 vaccine coverage in the world.

According to the World Health Organization, vaccination coverage in Sudan has declined sharply since the outbreak of conflict in the country in April 2023, with DTP1 vaccination coverage falling from 94 percent in 2022 to 48 percent in 2024, the lowest coverage in Sudan since 1987.

This decline has led to outbreaks of polio, measles, and other vaccine-preventable diseases in Sudan, which have cost children their lives, according to WHO data.