Rahul Chahal may not be a household name as of now, but with passing time, he would emerge as the biggest icon in the music industry. He is a video director and owns a music-making company called TDOTFILMS. Born on 26th June 1986 and brought up in Toronto, Canada, he always wanted to be the part of the creative industry which is surrounded my music. Since his childhood, his interest in reading comics and books helped him visualize and master the art of storytelling, which soon fixed his direction in his career. He ended up entering the music industry experimenting with different sorts of music with people of different nationalities. 

He started his career traveling a lot covering too many countries all across the world. His formal career in music started in Melbourne Australia when he made his first music video called My Sweet Love in the year 2014. Soon he was in India with two more videos known as Degriyaan and Pendu Korma making with the Indian musician – Bhupinder Gill. Since then it was no looking back. He moved on the path of music-making too many music videos and soon embarked with his own company TDOTFILMS in Canada which has its presence in India and other places.

He is known to shoot videos with different cameras from brands ranging from Sony to Arri and RED. He is also known for uploading his videos on Vines and YouTube. Working with people of different nations and music, he developed a good knack of creating some cool blends in music under his own banner called TDOTFILMS. He makes music and songs in several languages and has a decent fan following on social media as well. His recent work includes the music video called 4 am with Brown Boys Records where he gave his voice. His role is not limited to creating music but also extends to writing and scripting the songs, doing other creative work for the same.

Actress Sheikh Nadia who hails from Srinagar, Kashmir and was last seen in Vikas Gupta’s Ace of Space aired on MTV India quits acting. She says I have lived a very good life. I have enjoyed my work and lived my dreams to the fullest and more than expected. I wouldn’t have traded that life for anything. But as time passes by, your priorities change and so did mine. It’s not an abrupt decision in fact I have been thinking about it time and again. I am happy and content with my decision. I am going back to my hometown and the idea of being with my family gives me a sense of warmth. I have gained a lot of experience in Mumbai in these 5 years with the help of which I am thinking to get into production in my native industry. 

While talking with MWOOP she said “The thing is I have bigger goals, acting was just a part of it. I would continue making tiktok videos though haha. She adds it feels like the best decision ever taken. We asked her if she’s getting married. (Laughs) no no! No plans yet but will let everyone know whenever it happens. “

India is a country of enormous talent. Many get the floor, and many don’t. NOFILTR Management is a company which is promoting the fresh talent of India on a global level with leading singers and artists around the globe.

Naief Memon & Hardik Zaveri runs a company called NOFILTR Management. Naief, as we know, is a young Entrepreneur who is known for his work. His venture NOFILTR Management is mainly for the young talent of India. Naief Memon feels India is blessed with loads of talent what they require is the platform, So Naief and his friend decided to create a stage for all where they can support young artists on a more significant level with A grade superstars of other countries.

Recently they launched almost famous by collaborating with Soulja Boy for the song “Break Out”. Soulja Boy is known for his major hits like “Crank That” & “Kiss me though the Phone” this song ended up with millions of views over Apple Music, Youtube, Spotify, Gaana, Wynk Music, Times 

Music, Saavn and many other platforms.

By looking at the Instagram account of Almost Famous and who they follow it seems to be they may be about to release a significant song with The Chainsmokers as they are the only other artist beside Soulja that they follow.

Naief Memon and Hardik Zaveri were recently seen alongside “Cardi B & the Migos” in Miami and rumours suggest that they are working on bringing them down for a significant international Hip Hop Music festival in India and also doing a collaborating with young Indian artist.

Anything is possible for Naief Memon because this lad is a star. He regularly goes out with lots of B-town’s top stars, Producers and Industrialists, and many of them are his family friends, these things are every day for Naief Memon.

He is also seen out at parting with B-town celebrities and their kids. He is also a regular at All-Star FC practices and matches every Sunday and seen Playing Football alongside the likes of Dhoni, Ranbir Kapoor, Abhishek Bachhan.  

Naief Memon is distinct kind of Entrepreneur who wants to do something besides business, he wants to promote fresh talents and wants to see Indian artists on Global level, and if this happens, Naief would be the happiest person on Earth.

After the arrest of United Nations-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan, India celebrates another taste of victory at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. On Wednesday, the ICJ delivered its verdict in favor of India in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case as the world court ordered Pakistan to grant consular access to the former Indian Naval officer. The ICJ in its verdict has suspended the death sentence and asked Pakistan to review the sentence awarded to Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan. 

In the order copy following observations are recorded:

-By 15 votes to 1, it rejects the objections by the Islamic State of Pakistan to the admissibility of the application of the Republic of India and finds that the application of Republic of India is admissible;

-By 15 votes to 1, it finds that by not informing Mr. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav without delay of his rights under article 36, paragraph 1 (b) of the Vienna Convention on consular relations. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan breached the obligation incumbent upon it under the provision; 

The ICJ observed that there is no doubt over the Indian nationality of Mr. Kulbhushan Jadhav. India has raised this matter to ICJ on 8th May 2017 after egregious violations by Pakistan of the Vienna Convention, 1963 in the arrest, detention, and trial of Mr. Jadhav. Notably, a Chinese national judge also gave his verdict in favor of India. 

The Case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, Explained:

After the death sentence awarded to the former Indian Naval Officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by the Pakistani Military Court (FGCM, Field General Court Martial) in November 2017, Pakistan had said that the ‘consular access’ will be given on the basis of merit. Kulbhushan Jadhav was convicted by the military court over the alleged charges of espionage and subversive activities in the Balochistan Separatists Movement. The Indian government had repeatedly rejected Pakistan’s version and asked for consular access to Jadhav 14 times, but stayed rejected by Pakistan. Kulbhushan Jadhav couldn’t appeal to the civilian court. He could only have requested for a ‘review’ in the FGCM court, or, appeal in Military Appellate Tribunal. The India Saga had then learned about the murky and dubious procedures followed in Pakistan’s Military Court trials that arise doubt in transparency and sanctity of these Military Court.

About FGCM

Following the terror attack at Peshawar Army School in 2014 by Taliban that claimed 148 lives of innocent children, the then Pakistani government proposed a bill in the Parliament to amend the ‘Army Act 1952’ which was done for a two-years period, to try civilians for terror related offenses and activities. As Nawaz Sharif government failed to prevent terror activities via Civilian courts of Pakistan, he went on for an ‘effective deterrent’ that raised serious questions about the prosecution of the civilians since 2015. After the death sentence awarded to the Indian national, it’s high time to talk about the dubious and secretly controlled trials by Pakistan’s Military Court. 

No Transparency

Since February 2015, a total of 274 individuals have been tried and convicted in several military courts. There are 11 military courts in Pakistan; three in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, three in Punjab, two in Sindh and one in Balochistan. 

Conventionally, judges are opined to explain the reasoning behind the verdict. However, the Military court doesn’t ensure any such documents to the families of under trials. Even the essential findings are not disclosed. Everything depends upon the wit of Military court that curtails the human rights of the accused. 

No Right to Appeal in Civilian Courts

The Military courts’ convicts cannot appeal against the verdict in the Civilian courts. According to the Pakistan Army Act (1952), Military courts’ convict can only appeal in the ‘Military Appellate Tribunal’. However, convicts can request to ‘review’ the decision in the FGCM courts. Mercy plea is always an option. 

Military court functions in such offenses

– Kidnapping for ransom

– Attacking Military officers

– Instigating or waging war against the state

– Possessing, storing or transporting explosives, firearms, suicide jackets or other articles

– Using or designed vehicles for terrorist attack

In an exceptional move by amending the Constitution, Pakistan became the lone South-Asian country where civilians are tried by Military courts.

The International Commission for Jurists (ICJ) has been a continuous watchdog for Pakistan’s justice system. It condemned Pakistan in 2016, “the government and military authorities have failed to make public information about the time and place of their trials; the specific charges and evidence against the convicts; as well as the judgments of military courts including the essential findings, legal reasoning, and evidence on which the convictions were based.”

No Law Degree required in Military courts

In Pakistan, Military court judges are military officers very much a part of the military chain of command. There is no requirement for them to have a law degree or a legal background, which are prerequisites of judicial competence and independence of UN Principles. With Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the only source of information for Military court actions, Pakistan continues to announce a death sentence to many. 

Kulbhushan Jadhav death sentence looked highly dubious and suspicious when we observe at the above proceedings and functions of Pakistan Military Court. In the name of prevention of terrorism, Pakistan has been neglecting the international human rights norms on spy and espionage of the Vienna Convention.

Jugni gathers intelligence by processing data on how unorganized businesses function to help non-branded MSMEs streamline businesses, save money, and scale up. 

MSMEs contribute to over 90% of the retail transactions of consumer goods in India, especially the non-branded consumer products that account for over $300 billion worth of B2B transactions. Unfortunately, they suffer losses in excess of $30 billion due to the unorganised nature of business, inefficiencies, damage, theft, unrecovered debts, and mismanagement of records and unavailability of credit, among other ancillary issues. This impacts over 20 million micro and small manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers etc. 

While brands have their own distribution channels, the micro and small businesses lose out to middlemen. The reach of these manufacturers is mostly local and is limited to around 500 to 1,000 retailers. According to a survey by SpanBuy, a B2B marketplace exclusively for micro and small businesses, there is a minimum of 3 layers of middlemen before a product reaches the retailers. This significantly increases the cost and reduces the margins for small-time retailers. Since these products are not known brands, retailers show a lack of interest in buying and selling these products. 

SpanBuy addresses this problem with its AI-powered Business Assistant, Jugni, which helps MSMEs save money, increase efficiency and scale businesses by leveraging the real-time intelligence it gathers around the dynamics of how day-to-day businesses run in the micro and small enterprise world. 

“Jugni will soon be active to serve over 20 million MSMEs in India, before going global. With this highly trained sourcing specialist wholesalers and retailers can discover a wide range of goods with higher margins”, said Abhishek Pattnayak, co-founder and CEO of SpanBuy.

Jugni also serves as a ready platform for small manufacturers and importers to directly access SpanBuy’s current network of over 500,000 wholesalers and retailers, and even guides them on the nuances of e-commerce, added Abhishek. 

The vision of SpanBuy is aligned with that of the Indian MSME Minister, Nitin Gadkari, who proposed an indigenously built platform, on the lines of Amazon or Alibaba, for the MSMEs in India. 

“We are a startup and aim to work hand-in-hand with the Indian Government to create solutions for the MSME sector which is currently contributing 29% to our GDP with a potential to contribute 50% to India’s GDP. MSME can be a significant growth driver as India envisions to become a 5 trillion US dollar economy,” said Rithesh Monnappa, co-founder & COO, SpanBuy. 

“Along with a good platform to sell, the MSMEs need solutions on trade-finance, analytics, logistics, CRM, accounting, etc. SpanBuy aims to be the single source of truth and an all-in-one solution platform for over 20 million MSMEs. We understand the traditional ways and processes of the small business operations and provide solutions for each of these processes,” said Abhishek. 

A sector driven by trust and references, SpanBuy spent a concerted effort of seven months to engage with and leverage the network and influence of old-time MSME players. Currently, the platform has onboard businesses from over 15 verticals which include over 750 manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers like Funkrafts, Yuma Mobile, Concept Store, Live Basil, Mrigya Clothing, among others. “We would scale to 2000 manufacturers and provide them with the requisite business solutions by the end of 2019,” informed Rithesh. 

There is something about the KATRINA ANTONOVICH interior design and style which has attracted lots of A-grade people around the world from many years now. She is different effortless and influential because whether it’s fashion, or interior design Katrina Antonovich is constant in her work, and she produces Chic designs.

Katrina Antonovich work signifies quality and timelessness, and all her projects are of the pure class which makes her wah ahead then ordinary interior designers of the world. Katrina Antonovich is known for decorative masterpieces with the perfect fusion of classic and contemporary.

She comes from a blue-blooded family with a noble history. She is a talented professional and leading interior designer and interior fit-out company. She works for Retail, leisure, commercial, residential sectors. She also has an excellent team in her company “Luxury Antovinch design”.

Her office is in Dubai, but her clients are from worldwide. She is managing interior work for various countries top class business people. Her customers are mostly the VIP category people.  Katrina’s designs are the combination of the old and today’s hybrid classic models.

She is a genius in making a master bedroom, living room designs, Dining designs, customised curtains, children room designs, restaurant designs, bathroom designs, Flooring designs, Restaurant designs, dressing room designs, cinema hall, apartments, family halls, luxurious hows plans, clinics.

Katrina Antonovich knows that VIP customers need work in time, and she has the record of giving tough to a tough job within the time limit given by her for the project.  Her reputation in the world market is helping her getting the new big projects from various part of the world. Katrina’s name itself has become a brand in the market, and she gets new customers listening to her brand name in the market or from her past customers.

Katrina Antonovich main aim is to provide the most comfortable and also stylish designs to her customer, which says forever in their place and heart. For her business is not everything, relations matter for her and it’s beyond business.

When you invest in an FD, you earn returns at a fixed interest rate through the tenor. Usually, fixed deposit rates on company deposits are higher than those you can obtain at a bank. For example, you can earn interest at a rate as high as 8.95% when you invest in a Bajaj Finance Fixed Deposit. Even after the recent repo rate cuts, this FD is offering one of the highest interest rates. 

While you may think that marginal differences in FD rates do not amount to much, results obtained through an FD calculator indicate otherwise. To help you make a smart FD investment, here are 7 things to know about high FD interest rates.

Company FDs normally offer you better rates than bank FDs

You can open an FD with a bank or a non-banking financial institution. While bank fixed deposit schemes may be the more familiar option, they aren’t the best when it comes to getting high-interest rates. Company fixed deposit schemes can outmatch bank FDs in this regard. 

To illustrate, consider that FD interest rates at banks run up to around 6.5 to 7%. At most, you may get a rate of 8 to 8.25% on a bank FD. However, rates on a Bajaj Finance FD, a company deposit, start at 8% and run up to 8.95%.

Even a 0.5% rate difference can impact your returns greatly

At first, you may not make much of the marginal differences in FD interest rates. For example, you may obtain a rate of 8.10% on a certain FD and an interest rate of 8.60% on Bajaj Finance FD taken for 3 years with interest payouts at maturity. The 0.5% rate difference impacts your returns substantially, especially in the long run. 

Consider that you start with a principal of Rs. 5 lakh and opt for a tenor of 5 years. An FD that offers a rate of 8.10% transforms your principal into Rs. 7,38,071. However, the FD that yields interest at an 8.60% rate gives comparatively better returns. Here, you get Rs.7,55,299 at maturity. 

Higher rates let you meet your financial goals like a retirement fund more effectively

Whether you need to finance your child’s overseas education or build a large retirement corpus, high-interest rates help you tackle your financial goals more easily. When you invest in FDs for longer timeframes, say 20 years, higher FD interest rates provide you with additional finances and help you cater to urgent and unforeseen needs as well.

FD interest rates depend on tenor and payout frequency

To fetch the highest fixed deposit rates your issuer has on offer, choose your FD parameters wisely. Generally, FD interest rates peak when the tenor reaches 3 years. For example, as a new customer, interest rates on a Bajaj Finance FD start at 8%. 

However, this rate rises to 8.60% when you invest for a tenor of at least 3 years and take back your proceeds at maturity. While you have the option to earn frequently through regular interest payouts, this comes at a cost. The interest rate drops as your payout frequency increases.

Higher FD interest rates for senior citizens and existing customers

By investing in a Bajaj Finance Fixed Deposit, existing customers and senior citizens benefit from higher FD interest rates. The interest rate hikes are 0.25% and 0.35% for both customer profiles, respectively. By accounting for this hike, the FD interest rates for senior citizens goes up to 8.95%, which is one of the highest interest rates in the country.

0.10% more interest in renewing FD

Investing with a Bajaj Finance FD also helps you develop good investment habits with greater financial discipline. Here, you get a 0.10% interest rate boost when you renew your FD. In the long run, this incremental rate increase can provide you with a higher payout that you may consider a surplus. Use it to add a bit of luxury to your lifestyle or to cater to short-term financial setbacks.

High-interest rates are more valuable when coupled with low risk

Lucrative interest rates are dependable only when the FD that offers them has good credit ratings. Otherwise, you may not get timely payouts and at worst, your principal may not be returned. Bajaj Finance’s FD has been rated with an MAAA rating by ICRA and an FAAA rating by CRISIL. These being the highest in their respective categories, assure guaranteed returns.

News Source Â– Digpu 

The National Investigation  Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by Lok Sabha today, after a detailed discussion and a spirited defense by Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah.

While replying to the debate on the Bill to give powers to NIA to investigate the terror crimes relating to Indians and Indian interests abroad, today in Lok Sabha, the Home Minister backed a strong NIA to strengthen the legal framework against terrorism. He said that conviction has been achieved in 90% of the cases decided so far, which is one of the finest records in the world. Shah hailed the NIA for its achievements and said that India would finish terrorism by building a strong NIA.

Allaying opposition’s apprehensions on misuse of agencies the Home Minister quoted the Prime Minister and said that this Government is governed by Rule of Law and all investigative agencies follow the procedure established by law. He reassured the House that the agency would not be misused in any way by the Government.

Minister said that the POTA should not have been removed in the first place, as it led to a rise in acts of terror. This has been corroborated by Indian security agencies as well, he added. Home Minister also questioned why the perpetrators of the Samjhauta Express blast were allowed to walk free even when American agencies found their involvement in the act of terror.

Reiterating ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy of the Government against terrorism, Amit Shah said “Terrorism is Terrorism, it’s neither RIGHT nor LEFT. Perpetrators of terrorist acts need to be punished and will get punished.” All political parties, members of Parliament and the Government must come together to fight terror without pointing fingers at each other, otherwise, it would boost the morale of the terrorists.

Mr. Shah said, “We care for the widows of our martyred soldiers, we care for their sacrifices. Thus, it is important to strengthen NIA to investigate terror-related crimes and bring justice to these widows.”

The Home Minister said that by designating special courts, the cases would be expedited and transfers or delay in appointments of judges would not delay them.

While taking part in the debate on the bill, Minister of State for Home Affairs G. Kishan Reddy reinforced Government’s federal outlook and said that state police teams and other agencies would work in coordination with NIA in terror-related matters. There would be no encroachment by the Centre on the activities of the State machinery, he added.

Mr. Reddy said that the multi-agency center would be strengthened and sharing of information between the Centre and states on terrorism-related matters would be smoothened. There would be no discrimination among the agencies.

The Minister further added that terrorism has no religion, no caste, no gender. It is against humanity. The Government will take all stakeholders along with itself in fighting terrorism, following a ‘Zero Tolerance Policy’.

• The National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr. Amit Shah, on July 8, 2019. The Bill amends the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, 2008.  The Act provides for a national-level agency to investigate and prosecute offences listed in a schedule (scheduled offences).  Further, the Act allows for creation of Special Courts for the trial of scheduled offences.
   
• Scheduled offences: The schedule to the Act specifies a list of offences which are to be investigated and prosecuted by the NIA.  These include offences under Acts such as the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967.  The Bill seeks to allow the NIA to investigate the following offences, in addition: (i) human trafficking, (ii) offences related to counterfeit currency or bank notes, (iii) manufacture or sale of prohibited arms, (iv) cyber-terrorism, and (v) offences under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908.       
   
• Jurisdiction of the NIA: The Act provides for the creation of the NIA to investigate and prosecute offences specified in the schedule.  The officers of the NIA have the same powers as other police officers in relation to investigation of such offences, across India.  The Bill states that in addition, officers of the NIA will have the power to investigate scheduled offences committed outside India, subject to international treaties and domestic laws of other countries.  The central government may direct the NIA to investigate such cases, as if the offence has been committed in India.  The Special Court in New Delhi will have jurisdiction over these cases. 
   
• Special Courts: The Act allows the central government to constitute Special Courts for the trial of scheduled offences.  The Bill amends this to state that the central government may designate Sessions Courts as Special Courts for the trial of scheduled offences.  The central government is required to consult the Chief Justice of the High Court under which the Sessions Court is functioning, before designating it as a Special Court.  When more than one Special Court has been designated for any area, the senior-most judge will distribute cases among the courts.  Further, state governments may also designate Sessions Courts as Special Courts for the trial of scheduled offences.     

An estimated 820 million people did not have enough to eat in 2018, up from 811 million in the previous year, which is the third year of increase in a row. This underscores the immense challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030, says a new edition of the annual The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report released today.

The pace of progress in halving the number of children who are stunted and in reducing the number of babies born with low birth weight is too slow, which also puts the SDG 2 nutrition targets further out of reach, according to the report.

At the same time, adding to these challenges, overweight and obesity continue to increase in all regions, particularly among school-age children and adults.

The chances of being food insecure are higher for women than men in every continent, with the largest gap in Latin America.

“Our actions to tackle these troubling trends will have to be bolder, not only in scale but also in terms of multi sectoral collaboration,” the heads of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) urged in their joint foreword to the report.

Hunger is increasing in many countries where economic growth is lagging, particularly in middle-income countries and those that rely heavily on international primary commodity trade. The annual UN report also found that income inequality is rising in many of the countries where hunger is on the rise, making it even more difficult for the poor, vulnerable or marginalized to cope with economic slowdowns and downturns.

“We must foster pro-poor and inclusive structural transformation focusing on people and placing communities at the centre to reduce economic vulnerabilities and set ourselves on track to ending hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition,” the UN leaders said.

Slow progress in Africa and Asia

The situation is most alarming in Africa, as the region has the highest rates of hunger in the world and which are continuing too slowly but steadily rise in almost all subregions. In Eastern Africa in particular, close to a third of the population (30.8 percent) is undernourished. In addition to climate and conflict, economic slowdowns and downturns are driving the rise. Since 2011, almost half the countries where rising hunger occurred due to economic slowdowns or stagnation were in Africa.

The largest number of undernourished people (more than 500 million) live in Asia, mostly in southern Asian countries. Together, Africa and Asia bear the greatest share of all forms of malnutrition, accounting for more than nine out of ten of all stunted children and over nine out of ten of all wasted children worldwide. In southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, one child in three is stunted.

In addition to the challenges of stunting and wasting, Asia and Africa are also home to nearly three-quarters of all overweight children worldwide, largely driven by consumption of unhealthy diets.

Going beyond hunger

This year’s report introduces a new indicator for measuring food insecurity at different levels of severity and monitoring progress towards SDG 2: the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity. This indicator is based on data obtained directly from people in surveys about their access to food in the last 12 months, using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). People experiencing moderate food insecurity face uncertainties about their ability to obtain food and have had to reduce the quality and/or quantity of food they eat to get by.

The report estimates that over 2 billion people, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, do not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. But irregular access is also a challenge for high-income countries, including 8 percent of the population in Northern America and Europe. This calls for a profound transformation of food systems to provide sustainably-produced healthy diets for a growing world population.

Key facts and figures

• Number of hungry people in the world in 2018: 821.6 million (or 1 in 9 people)
  • in Asia: 513.9 million
  • in Africa: 256.1million
  • in Latin America and the Caribbean: 42.5 million
• Number of moderately or severely food insecure: 2 billion (26.4%)
• Babies born with low birth weight: 20.5 million (one in seven)
• Children under 5 affected by stunting (low height-for-age): 148.9 million (21.9%)
• Children under 5 affected by wasting (low weight-for-height): 49.5 million (7.3%)
• Children under 5 who are overweight (high weight-for-height): 40 million (5.9%)
• School-age children and adolescents who are overweight: 338 million
• Adults who are obese: 672 million (13% or 1 in 8 adults)

20 million children worldwide – more than 1 in 10 – missed out on life-saving vaccines such as measles, diphtheria, and tetanus in 2018, according to new data from WHO and UNICEF.

Globally, since 2010, vaccination coverage with three doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) and one dose of the measles vaccine has stalled at around 86 percent. While high, this is not sufficient. 95 percent coverage is needed – globally, across countries, and communities – to protect against outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Vaccines are one of our most important tools for preventing outbreaks and keeping the world safe,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. Â“While most children today are being vaccinated, far too many are left behind. Unacceptably, it’s often those who are most at risk– the poorest, the most marginalized, those touched by conflict or forced from their homes – who are persistently missed.”

Most unvaccinated children live in the poorest countries, and are disproportionately in fragile or conflict-affected states. Almost half are in just 16 countries – Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

If these children do get sick, they are at risk of the severest health consequences, and least likely to access lifesaving treatment and care.

Measles outbreaks reveal entrenched gaps in coverage, often over many years. 

Stark disparities in vaccine access persist across and within countries of all income levels. This has resulted in devastating measles outbreaks in many parts of the world – including countries that have high overall vaccination rates.

In 2018, almost 350,000 measles cases were reported globally, more than doubling from 2017.

“Measles is a real time indicator of where we have more work to do to fight preventable diseases,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s Executive Director. “Because measles is so contagious, an outbreak points to communities that are missing out on vaccines due to access, costs or, in some places, complacency. We have to exhaust every effort to immunize every child.” 

Ukraine leads a varied list of countries with the highest reported incidence rate of measles in 2018. While the country has now managed to vaccinate over 90 percent of its infants, coverage had been low for several years, leaving a large number of older children and adults at risk.

Several other countries with high incidence and high coverage have significant groups of people who have missed the measles vaccine in the past. This shows how low coverage over time or discrete communities of unvaccinated people can spark deadly outbreaks.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage data available for the first time

For the first time, there is also data on the coverage of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which protects girls against cervical cancer later in life. As of 2018, 90 countries – home to 1 in 3 girls worldwide – had introduced the HPV vaccine into their national programmes. Just 13 of these are lower-income countries. This leaves those most at risk of the devastating impacts of cervical cancer still least likely to have access to the vaccine.

Together with partners like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO and UNICEF are supporting countries to strengthen their immunization systems and outbreak response, including by vaccinating all children with routine immunization, conducting emergency campaigns, and training and equipping health workers as an essential part of quality primary healthcare.