Pakistan, June 25 -- A new global health study by The Lancet has revealed that Pakistan has the second-highest number of children who receive no vaccines at all. These children, called "zero-dose children," are completely unprotected from deadly but preventable diseases. The study found that 419,000 children in Pakistan did not receive even a single dose of any routine vaccine in 2023. India ranks first in South Asia, followed by Pakistan, highlighting a serious gap in the region's healthcare.

The report warned that global progress in childhood vaccination has slowed down in recent years. Although past efforts saved millions of lives, the momentum has now dropped. One major reason is the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted routine healthc...