Population of country not considered in the latest WHO-Unicef data

India's population, which is many times more than several nations, has not been taken into account while comparing children's vaccination data with 19 other countries in the latest WHO and UNICEF estimates of national immunisation coverage (WUENIC), official sources have said.

They asserted that India is steadfast in its commitment to reduce the number of zero-dose children.

"Even though India has the second highest (number of) zero-dose children in the world, it accounts for 0.11 per cent of the country's total population," Union health ministry sources said on Tuesday.

The sources were reacting to the WUENIC data released on Monday which stated that India had the second highest number of children, nearly 16 lakh, who did not receive any vaccine in 2023, just after Nigeria with 21 lakh zero-dose children.

"The comparison is flawed as the base population has not been taken into consideration," a source said.

The WUENIC data showed that India's rank improved from 2021 when the coun