The United Nations has warned that a “perfect storm” was brewing, with a raging pandemic disrupting access to routine vaccinations, leaving millions of children at risk from measles and other deadly diseases.

A full 23 million children missed out on basic childhood vaccines last year, as routine health services were hit worldwide by restrictions aimed at controlling Covid-19 and many parents shunned the clinics that were open for fear of exposure to the virus, AFP reports.

It marks the highest number in over a decade and 3.7 million more than in 2019, according to data published by the World Health Organisation and the UN's children's agency Unicef.