LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - Efforts to vaccinate children worldwide against deadly diseases such as measles and diphtheria began to recover in 2022 after a historic backslide caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

But the recovery remains uneven, with strong bouncebacks in large lower-middle income countries such as India and Indonesia masking ongoing problems in many smaller and poorer countries, the agencies said in a statement released on Tuesday.