Filling the immunisation-nutrition gaps: Eight actionable solutions for Pakistan’s zero-dose children
Following World Immunisation Week, AKF, in partnership with The Power of Nutrition and Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, identifies eight areas of focus for tackling immunisation gaps in Pakistan
For decades, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), alongside partners within the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), has been committed to improving health and nutrition across Asia and Africa, taking a holistic approach to supporting communities in enhancing their own health and wellbeing.
From maternal and prenatal healthcare through childhood and adolescence, our work also addresses a variety of issues and sectors essential to creating a healthy foundation for human development: water and hygiene, food systems, and healthy behaviours.
A community outreach session on vaccine awareness and immunisation, led by a community health worker.
Pakistan – where AKF has been working since 1969 – is no exception. Currently, Pakistan ranks third globally in terms of child mortality and third in the number of zero-dose children. In 2023 alone, more than one million children missed their routine first dose of the measles vaccine. The hardest-to-reach populations — with the highest concentrations of undernourished, stunted, and wasted children — also have the lowest vaccination coverage and the highest number of zero-dose children.
Following on-the-ground assessments of health facilities and extensive consultations with district, provincial and national government in Pakistan, AKF, The Power of Nutrition and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance have identified eight areas of focus for tackling immunisation gaps.
In a new report, authored by Aminah Jahangir, AKF’s Regional Advisor for Health and Nutrition in Asia, we share an analysis of these gaps and outline actionable solutions for service integration, community engagement, and workforce enhancement in Pakistan’s Balochistan, Sindh, and Gilgit-Baltistan provinces.
Learn more by downloading the report here
This report was written by AKF’s Aminah Jahangir (Regional Advisor Health & Nutrition – Asia), Claudia Hudspeth (Global Lead, Health and Nutrition), Qayyum Noorani (Advisor, Health – Pakistan), and Mirbaz Khan (Programme Officer – Pakistan).
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