New publication: The first global scoping review on zero-dose children since the launch of the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030)!

📢 New publication: The first global scoping review on zero-dose children since the launch of the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030)!

We’re excited to share our new publication, which maps and synthesises the growing body of scientific literature on zero-dose (ZD) children (those who have not received any routine vaccines) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) since the launch of IA2030. This study was conducted as part of a collaboration between the École de santé publique de l'Université de Montréal and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Our preliminary findings were shared with Gavi decision-makers in April 2024, just in time to inform strategic discussions shaping Gavi's next strategy (Gavi 6.0).

📄 Read the full article 👉 https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/8/e018293

🔍 Why this work matters
IA2030 aims to halve the number of ZD children by 2030. As per the latest WHO/UNICEF estimates (2024) ZD children are estimated at 14.3 million globally - about 4 million off-track to meet the target. Until now, there was no synthesis focusing specifically on ZD children in all LMICs since the launch of IA2030. Our review of 82 peer-reviewed studies fills this critical gap.

📊 What we found
1. The most reported barriers to vaccination services for ZD children concerned the intent to vaccinate, followed by community access - reflecting gaps related to behavioural and social drivers of vaccination, and to the interaction between health systems and communities.
2. ZD children, households and communities face multiple deprivations, with the risk of deprivations varying across contexts, suggesting variations in the likelihood of ZD children surviving, thriving, or reaching their potential.
3. We found no studies on interventions that focused specifically on reaching ZD children with routine immunisation services, highlighting a critical evidence gap.

💡 What this means
1. There is an urgent need to generate evidence on effective interventions for reaching ZD children and missed communities — including their outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and contextual fit.
2. Progress will require community-led, integrated approaches that go beyond vaccines to address the other essential services and consider root causes of exclusion and deprivations.

Our review covers studies published between January 2020 and January 2024. We are currently planning to update this synthesis to capture articles published since - stay tuned!