UNICEF, protecting every child in the Philippines now and then through the power of vaccines

Vaccines are among the greatest advances of modern medicine. They have contributed to better health and well-being, led to substantial savings on treatment costs, and promoted more productive societies. 

UNICEF has been working hand-in-hand with the Philippine Government since 1946 to ensure that every child is protected from life-threatening and vaccine-preventable diseases.  UNICEF has helped eliminate Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus and end two polio outbreaks in the country.  

Here is a look back at some highlights of UNICEF’s work in the Philippines to help reach every child in the country with safe, effective and life-saving vaccines.  

1940s-1950s 

When it opened its doors in 1948, UNICEF’s first  health programmes focused on tuberculosis and reducing infant and child mortality and morbidity.  

In the 1950s, UNICEF carried out anti-malaria campaigns and immunization drives against contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, yaws (a chronic infection that affects mainly the skin, bone and cartilage) and other childhood diseases. By the end of the 1950s, the anti-yaws campaign covered all affected areas in the Philippines. 

1970s 

UNICEF assisted the Philippine Government in launching an immunization programme against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, tuberculosis, and polio, with a focus on children living in slums.  

1990s 

The Philippines began buying its own vaccines through the vaccine independence initiative, which enabled the country to get vaccine supplies under flexible payment terms. UNICEF supported this initiative through bridging payment intervals. 

2000s: 

Three decades after the national vaccination programme started, polio was declared eradicated in the Philippines. Immunization drives continued to reach remote villages. 

 In 2007, UNICEF launched the Days of Peace campaign in Mindanao following the signing of a Joint Communiqué between UNICEF and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The ceasefire enabled health workers to reach children in conflict-affected areas with essential and life-saving health services, many of which were suspended because of the armed conflict. 

2010s 

In the wake of destruction caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan, UNICEF and World Health Organization (WHO) supported the Government-led emergency and relief operations in vaccinating 33,000 children under the age of 5 in the typhoon-affected city of Tacloban to give protection against measles and polio.  

In 2017, the Philippines eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus with support from UNICEF and WHO. After being polio-free for nearly two decades (1992), the Philippines declared a polio outbreak in 2019. UNICEF and WHO supported the Philippine Government to increase immunization coverage via outbreak response immunization and supplementary immunization activities to stop polio transmission in the country. 

2020 

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF continued to support the Department of Health to ensure the continuity of its routine immunization programme and supplementary immunization activities for polio and measles. 

UNICEF also assisted the Philippine Government in its application to the COVAX Facility to help the Philippines access fair and equitable COVID-19 vaccines.  

The 2019 polio outbreak came to an end in 2021, thanks to comprehensive outbreak response actions facilitated by UNICEF in collaboration with WHO and the Department of Health. 

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) launched the Measles Outbreak Response Immunization (MORI) in early 2024, vaccinating around 1.2 million children, and successfully stopped the disease from spreading. 

Digital health technologies have contributed to a more efficient delivery of health services. In 2025, UNICEF, with funding support from the Government of Japan, handed over DigiVacc, a digital immunization suite designed to strengthen the coverage of fully-immunized children in the Philippines, to the Department of Health. 

Challenges remain, and we must stay vigilant in preparing and responding to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. In a world facing increasing instability and inequality, UNICEF continues its unwavering commitment to support the Government, and partners reach every child in the Philippines with life-saving vaccines - just as it has for decades - so that they grow up healthy, happy and empowered to leave productive lives.