Stronger together: milestones that mattered in 2025
Looking back on 2025, the year has been marked by immense achievements and profound challenges for global health. In the face of major funding cuts and increasing threats to science and solidarity, WHO continued to lead and champion global efforts to confront the biggest health challenges of our time.
From governments adopting the world’s first Pandemic Agreement and expanding access to life-saving medicines, to tackling climate-related health risks, WHO reaffirmed both the central role of evidence in health and our enduring relevance to the health of all people, everywhere.
Elimination of mother-to-child disease transmission
Maldives became the first country to achieve “triple elimination” of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B. Brazil was also recognized for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, making it the most populous country in the Americas to achieve this historic milestone.
Decline in deaths from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) deaths declined significantly, with the WHO African and European regions achieving 46% and 49% reductions over the past decade. Yet TB still killed 1.2 million people in 2024, underscoring the need to address risk factors like HIV, diabetes, smoking and undernutrition.
Elimination of trachoma, sleeping sickness and river blindness
Burundi, Egypt and Fiji eliminated trachoma, while Guinea and Kenya eliminated sleeping sickness. Niger became the first African country to eliminate river blindness. WHO’s Global report on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) shows 32% fewer people needing treatments against an NTD since 2010, with 867 million people treated in 2023.
Progress in malaria control
In 2025, Georgia, Suriname and Timor-Leste were certified malaria-free, and 7 additional new countries in Africa introduced malaria vaccines – a key intervention for child survival. This brings the total to 24 countries, reaching more than 10 million children annually. Wider use of new tools against malaria, including dual-ingredient nets and WHO-recommended vaccines, helped to prevent an estimated 170 million cases and 1 million deaths in 2024.
Continued scale-up of vaccination programmes
With support from WHO and partners, countries continue scaling up vaccination programmes to protect against diseases including meningitis, pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus and HPV (human papillomavirus – a major cause of cervical cancer). On 17 November, the first World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day, WHO and partners announced 86 million girls vaccinated against HPV. In 2025, countries including Bhutan, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Rwanda expanded HPV vaccination and screening – bringing the world closer to eliminating cervical cancer.
Global immunization efforts have led to an 88% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024; nearly 59 million lives have been saved by the measles vaccine since 2000. Despite fewer deaths, measles cases are surging worldwide, with an estimated 11 million infections in 2024 – nearly 800 000 more than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. At least 95% coverage with two measles vaccine doses is required to stop transmission and protect communities from outbreaks of this highly contagious virus.
While 89% of infants worldwide received at least one dose against diphtheria, tetanus and polio (DTP), 20 million children missed out on essential vaccines in 2024 due to conflict, supply disruptions, and a rise in vaccine misinformation.
