Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has launched the Zero-Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH), a new mechanism to improve how data and evidence are leveraged to successfully identify and reach the millions of children who have not yet received a single routine vaccine shot – “zero-dose” children – and the missed communities in which they live.

The goal of the ZDLH collaboration is to supplement existing and ongoing monitoring efforts by building deeper understanding and sharing learning on the complex array of factors that impact efforts to reach zero-dose children, particularly in lower-income Gavi implementing countries.

Funded and coordinated by Gavi, ZDLH is composed of Country Learning Hubs in Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria and Uganda, as well as a global hub led by JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc. (JSI), with support from the Indian Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR) and The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF). The global hub will provide technical and operational support to countries; and disseminate learning across immunisation stakeholders at the community, national, regional and global levels.

The number of zero-dose children in Gavi implementing countries reduced by 14% from 2015 to 2019. However, this number increased during the pandemic; and in 2021, there were 12.5 million zero-dose children in the 57 lower-income countries supported by Gavi.