The International Rescue Committee (IRC), together with partners in the Gavi-funded REACH consortium, has announced that it has delivered over 30 million vaccine doses in fragile and conflict-affected settings, reaching more than 1 million children who had previously received no vaccines. The announcement was made in New York ahead of World Immunization Week 2026.
Since its launch in 2022, the REACH programme has operated in Chad, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia, focusing on areas where conflict and humanitarian crises have severely limited access to routine immunisation services. It provides both regular vaccinations and catch-up doses for children who have missed earlier immunisation schedules.
Gavi highlights that immunisation access remains deeply unequal, with millions of children globally still unvaccinated, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected countries. These children face significantly higher health risks, including being far more vulnerable to preventable diseases and death compared to those in stable regions.
The REACH initiative is presented as a scalable model for delivering vaccines in crisis settings, achieved through community engagement, negotiated humanitarian access, and partnerships with local organisations. According to IRC leadership, the programme has expanded access dramatically, reaching all target communities compared to just 16% at its start.
The programme is also noted for its efficiency, delivering vaccines at an average cost of under US$2 per dose, and in some cases below US$1, making it more cost-effective than many traditional delivery models. This efficiency is seen as critical at a time when global health funding is under pressure.
REACH operates through three key approaches: ensuring sustained humanitarian access in insecure areas, providing both routine and catch-up immunisation rather than limited campaigns, and coordinating across multiple countries through locally led partnerships supported by international coordination.
Health leaders emphasize that the model demonstrates how immunisation can be delivered effectively even in the most challenging environments, helping to reduce disease outbreaks and close global vaccine gaps. The IRC is calling on donors and partners to scale up such approaches to ensure that vulnerable children in crisis settings are not left behind in global immunisation efforts.
