More than 14 million children around the world did not get even a single vaccine last year, according to the United Nations. This number is about the same as the year before. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF said on Tuesday that in 2024, about 89% of babies under one year old got their first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough vaccine, the same as in 2023. About 85% completed all three doses, which is a small increase from 84% the year before.

However, officials said that it will be harder to reduce the number of children without vaccines because of a big drop in international aid this year. In January, U.S. President Trump pulled the country out of the WHO, stopped almost all humanitarian aid, and began closing the U.S. AID agency. Last month, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also announced that the U.S. would stop giving billions of dollars to the vaccines alliance Gavi, saying they "ignored the science."

Kennedy has been known to question vaccines, even though the diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough vaccine has been proven safe and effective for many years. According to the U.N., vaccines save between 3.5 million to 5 million lives every year. "Big cuts in aid, along with false information about vaccines, are threatening to destroy years of progress," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The U.N. said access to vaccines is still not equal everywhere. Wars and crises can quickly undo progress. For example, Sudan had the lowest number of children vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough. Nine countries accounted for more than half of the children who didn’t get any vaccines at all: Nigeria, India, Sudan, Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Angola.

The number of children vaccinated against measles has gone up a little, with 76% of kids getting both doses. But experts say we need 95% coverage to stop outbreaks. WHO said that 60 countries had major measles outbreaks last year. The U.S. is having its worst measles outbreak in more than 30 years. In Europe, measles cases have also doubled, reaching 125,000 cases in 2024. In the U.K., a child recently died from measles in Liverpool. Officials there said that only about 84% of children are protected, despite many campaigns to raise awareness.

"It is very worrying but not surprising to see these outbreaks," said Helen Bradford, a children’s health expert from University College London. "The only way to stop measles is by vaccination," she said. "It is never too late to get vaccinated, even for adults."