Vaccines for Children Who Missed Immunization: 'The Big Catch-Up' Concludes, Reaching 18.3 Million Children in 36 Countries with Over 100 Million Doses
UNICEF, Gavi, and WHO announced the completion of 'The Big Catch-Up' (BCU) initiative. The campaign successfully delivered over 100 million vaccine doses to 18.3 million children across 36 countries, significantly closing the immunity gaps caused by the pandemic.
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- 📰 Published: April 25, 2026 at 01:50
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GENEVA/NEW YORK, April 24, 2026 – UNICEF, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today the conclusion of 'The Big Catch-Up' (BCU), a historic multi-year effort to address the decline in childhood vaccination rates caused primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since its launch in 2023, the BCU has delivered over 100 million doses of life-saving vaccines to an estimated 18.3 million children aged 1 to 5 in 36 countries. This achievement has significantly contributed to narrowing critical immunity gaps. Among those reached, an estimated 12.3 million were 'zero-dose' children who had never received a single vaccination, and 15 million had never received a measles vaccine. Additionally, the initiative provided 23 million doses of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) to un- or under-vaccinated children as part of the global effort to eradicate polio.
The BCU officially concluded on March 31, 2026. While final data is still being aggregated, the global effort is expected to meet its target of vaccinating at least 21 million un- or under-vaccinated children.
However, the three agencies cautioned that while catch-up immunization is a vital strategy for closing gaps, expanding routine immunization programs remains the most effective and sustainable way to protect children and prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Closing the Equity Gap in Vaccines
Beyond pandemic recovery, the BCU focused on reducing inequities in immunization. Millions of children miss essential vaccines by their first birthday every year, mostly in fragile settings, conflict-affected areas, or communities with poor access to healthcare. Historically, these children rarely had their missed doses caught up later in life.
Currently, 60% of the world's unvaccinated children live in the 36 BCU-participating countries in Africa and Asia. The pandemic worsened this by creating millions of new zero-dose children on top of those chronically missing out. To tackle this, BCU systematically used routine health systems to reach older children aged 1 to 5 for the first time.
The initiative established sustainable mechanisms to identify, screen, and vaccinate these older children, including policy reviews on age eligibility and training health workers to integrate catch-up checks into routine healthcare visits.
Since its launch in 2023, the BCU has delivered over 100 million doses of life-saving vaccines to an estimated 18.3 million children aged 1 to 5 in 36 countries. This achievement has significantly contributed to narrowing critical immunity gaps. Among those reached, an estimated 12.3 million were 'zero-dose' children who had never received a single vaccination, and 15 million had never received a measles vaccine. Additionally, the initiative provided 23 million doses of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) to un- or under-vaccinated children as part of the global effort to eradicate polio.
The BCU officially concluded on March 31, 2026. While final data is still being aggregated, the global effort is expected to meet its target of vaccinating at least 21 million un- or under-vaccinated children.
However, the three agencies cautioned that while catch-up immunization is a vital strategy for closing gaps, expanding routine immunization programs remains the most effective and sustainable way to protect children and prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Closing the Equity Gap in Vaccines
Beyond pandemic recovery, the BCU focused on reducing inequities in immunization. Millions of children miss essential vaccines by their first birthday every year, mostly in fragile settings, conflict-affected areas, or communities with poor access to healthcare. Historically, these children rarely had their missed doses caught up later in life.
Currently, 60% of the world's unvaccinated children live in the 36 BCU-participating countries in Africa and Asia. The pandemic worsened this by creating millions of new zero-dose children on top of those chronically missing out. To tackle this, BCU systematically used routine health systems to reach older children aged 1 to 5 for the first time.
The initiative established sustainable mechanisms to identify, screen, and vaccinate these older children, including policy reviews on age eligibility and training health workers to integrate catch-up checks into routine healthcare visits.