WHO, Gavi and UNICEF: 100m doses delivered as 11m measles cases test UAE readiness

WHO, Gavi and UNICEF said the Big Catch-Up delivered more than 100 million vaccine doses to 18.3 million children, a global gain that still leaves UAE providers exposed to imported measles and polio risk.

The number to remember is 11 million: WHO said measles cases reached about 11 million in 2024, and countries with large outbreaks have almost tripled since 2021. For UAE hospital executives, the operational issue is whether vaccination records, triage prompts and isolation protocols work before an imported case reaches a waiting room.

What WHO, Gavi and UNICEF reported

The Big Catch-Up launched during World Immunization Week 2023 after COVID-19 disrupted routine childhood vaccination. Programme implementation ended on 31 March 2026. WHO, Gavi and UNICEF said final data is still being compiled, but the initiative is on track to reach at least 21 million un- and under-immunised children.

• 18.3 million children aged 1 to 5 were reached between 2023 and 2025.
• 12.3 million were zero-dose children who had received no previous vaccine.
• 15 million had never received a measles vaccine.
• 23 million doses of inactivated polio vaccine were delivered to un- and under-vaccinated children.

The 36 participating countries in Africa and Asia account for about 60% of zero-dose children worldwide, according to WHO, Gavi and UNICEF. Ethiopia reached more than 2.5 million previously zero-dose children with DTP1 and delivered nearly 5 million IPV doses. Nigeria reached 2 million previously zero-dose children with DTP1 and administered 3.4 million IPV doses.

"Vaccinations save lives. This initiative shows what's possible when countries have the resources, tools, and political will to reach children with lifesaving vaccines."
Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director

Why UAE operators should care

The UAE is outside the 36-country programme, but UAE hospitals and clinics sit inside high-volume travel, school and labour mobility networks. One measles exposure in an emergency department can trigger contact tracing, staff exclusion decisions and reputational risk if immunisation records are incomplete.

WHO said an estimated 14.3 million infants failed to receive a single vaccine through routine immunisation programmes in 2024. That is the board-level signal for UAE providers: missed childhood vaccination abroad can become a local infection-control incident when paediatric demand, outpatient volume and cross-border movement are high.

For medical directors, the test is current isolation practice, staff immunity evidence and escalation steps under Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DOH) or Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) requirements. For COOs and CIOs, the practical check is whether EHR workflows can flag missing measles, polio and DTP documentation at registration, paediatric visits, school health checks and pre-travel consultations.

What to check in 2026

WHO, Gavi and UNICEF said catch-up campaigns can reduce backlog, while routine immunisation remains the main protection. For UAE executives, that means one-off vaccination drives are less useful for risk control than clean data, repeatable recall systems and audit-ready records.

Private hospitals, clinics and school health providers should review 2026 vaccination governance against four checks: age-based prompts in the patient record, documented staff immunity for high-risk departments, clear escalation routes for suspected measles or polio exposure, and a named owner for regulator reporting under DHA, DOH or MOHAP.

World Immunization Week ran from 24 to 30 April 2026 under the joint campaign "For every generation, vaccines work." For UAE operators, the concrete takeaway is 11 million measles cases in 2024: vaccination gaps outside the UAE can become local workflow failures if records, triage and infection-control routines are weak.