World Immunization Week 2026

Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia

Vaccines have saved an estimated 150 million lives over the past 50 years, making immunization one of the most powerful and transformative achievements in public health. Yet despite this progress, millions of people-especially children in the most vulnerable communities-remain unprotected.

This year, the theme of World Immunization Week, "For Every Generation, Vaccines Work", reminds us that vaccines have safely protected people, families, and communities for generations - and continue to safeguard our future. More than a childhood intervention, immunization is a lifelong promise of protection, equity, and opportunity.

Globally, vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the last 50 years, not by accident, but because people and communities made a deliberate choice to stand with science. In the WHO South-East Asia Region, diseases that once claimed young lives-polio, measles, rubella, tetanus, diarrhea and diphtheria-have been eliminated or substantially reduced in many countries.

Nonetheless, there is much to still be done. Nearly 1.9 million children in the region remain "zero-dose," not having received a single routine vaccination. Under-immunized children continue to be left behind. Reaching these children, often in fragile, remote, or marginalized communities, is one of our most urgent priorities.

At the same time, immunization must extend across the life course, giving newborns and infants a healthy start, protecting adolescents from disease, and reducing severe illness and disability for adults and older people. Life-course immunization must remain central to universal health coverage and strong primary health care systems.

Misinformation and declining trust threaten hard-won progress. Climate change, conflict, and population mobility further complicate vaccine delivery. These realities demand renewed commitment, innovation, and collaboration.

The COVID-19 pandemic showed both the extraordinary impact of vaccines and the high cost of inequitable access, reinforcing the need for strong routine immunization systems, resilient supply chains, regional manufacturing capacity, and reliable data systems to reach every person, everywhere.

During World Immunization Week, WHO calls upon governments, partners, health professionals, civil society, and communities across South-East Asia to:

• Reach every child, by prioritizing zero-dose and missed communities with quality, people-centred immunization services.
• Advance life-course immunization, by integrating adolescents, adults, and older persons into national strategies.
• Combat AMR, by expanding coverage of key vaccines, strengthening surveillance, and integrating immunization into national AMR action plans.
• Strengthen trust, through transparent communication, community engagement, and respect for local contexts.
• Invest, in immunization systems, workforce capacity, surveillance, and data-driven decision-making.

Vaccination is both a shared responsibility and a shared benefit. When we immunize one person, we help protect many. When we invest in vaccines today, we safeguard the health of future generations.

This World Immunization Week, let us stand with science and reaffirm that "For Every Generation, Vaccines Work."