Vaccine Inequity among Migrant Population of India: An Evidence Synthesis Using Meta-Analysis

Background and Aims: Child mortality has been largely associated with major vaccine preventable diseases. As such, vaccination of children within the first 24 months is an important intervention to ensure protection from diseases. India is one of the countries that have shown commitment and improvement in the vaccination of children but unfortunately still lagging due to various reasons, one of them being migration. This article aimed to study and synthesize the evidence on the coverage of immunization in Indian children under the age of 5 years from the migratory population. Materials and Methods: This article has been prepared in adherence with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines. MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases were utilized for data retrieval. Data were collected from the published literature on the universal immunization program and coverage of under-five migrant children from the year 2000 to 2021. The evidence was synthesized using MedCalc software. Results: A total of 26 studies were included in the systematic review according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and 12 studies were included in the meta-analysis based on the data available on the full immunization coverage. The pooled prevalence of Full Immunization Coverage was 47.281%. Evidence from the 12 studies showed that immunization coverage is lower in the migrant population as compared to the nonmigrant population. Conclusions: Our findings indicate a reduced likelihood of vaccination against vaccine preventable diseases among children of migrants, with only one study reported to achieve the target of 90% coverage.