Disparities and barriers to life-course vaccination in Ethiopia: Evidence from a household survey

This large-scale community-based study assessed life‑course vaccination coverage and inequities across four regions of Ethiopia in the context of Immunization Agenda 2030. Despite strong routine immunization performance, gaps persist: 9.1% of the population were zero‑dose and 11.2% under‑immunized, with particularly low coverage among marginalized groups. While coverage was relatively high for childhood measles vaccination, tetanus‑diphtheria among pregnant women, and HPV among adolescent girls, uptake of COVID‑19 vaccination among individuals aged 12 years and above remained low. Pronounced regional disparities were observed, with pastoralist Afar recording the highest zero‑dose prevalence. The findings underscore the need for geospatially informed microplanning, expanded mobile outreach, and culturally tailored demand‑generation strategies to close equity gaps and advance IA2030 goals. 

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