Across more than 100 countries, 180,000 young people shared how they feel about vaccines and ending polio in the latest U-Report poll. Your answers paint a hopeful picture—and a clear checklist for action. These insights will help shape UNICEF and partners work to achieve a polio-free world.
The good news
Three in four respondents said they fully support or trust most vaccines. That’s huge. It means most young people see vaccines for what they are: lifesaving tools that protect our families, our communities and our futures. On top of that, three in five young people said they think ending polio is super urgent or important.
Why polio still matters
It wasn’t long ago that hundreds of thousands of children were paralyzed because of polio. Vaccines changed that story dramatically—so much that one in four young people in the poll said that they don’t know what polio is. Younger respondents (13-19) were even more likely to say they do not know what polio is.
More than 20 million people are walking today who otherwise wouldn’t be thanks to polio vaccination efforts. While the progress is amazing, it also means people can forget the risks with time, so we need to keep raising awareness, sharing facts and making sure every generation stays protected.
What’s holding people back when it comes to vaccines
Among the young people who said they don’t trust vaccines, the top worries were side effects, vaccine safety, personal or religious reasons and mistrust of information. That tells us the problem is a lack of awareness and accurate information about vaccines.
When reliable, helpful information is easy to find, confidence grows. U-Report's chatbot Vivi makes that even easier—through an interactive chat, Vivi can teach you how to spot misinformation about vaccines and challenge it.
How do we improve vaccination
When it comes to making vaccination efforts more effective, you had clear ideas. Nearly one in three (32%) said that we need to reach more children with vaccines. Another 27% pointed to improving health services—making them easier to reach and more reliable. Fighting misinformation came next (17%) and providing financial support close after (13%) in overcoming barriers to get vaccinated.
What you can do
- Chat with U-Report's chatbot Vivi and learn how to detect vaccine misinformation. Sharpen your critical thinking skills by knowing how misinformation is spread and how to challenge it. Send the word VACCINES in a Direct Message to U-Report on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram or Viber.
Get the facts and share smart. Follow trusted health sources. Ask a health worker. If something sounds shocking or too simple, double-check it. Post accurate info, correct myths kindly and amplify youth voices that promote health.
Take action. If vaccines are available to you or your family, don’t skip them. Encourage others to do the same.
The bottom line
Every child needs to be vaccinated to grow up polio-free. Vaccines are safe, effective and the only way to protect communities from polio for good. We’re closer than ever to ending polio in our lifetime. If we wait, we risk losing everything we’ve gained, so let’s keep going. Young people are already leading with optimism and action. Let’s match that energy with facts and compassion and end polio for good!
