The World Health Organization (WHO) says one in every five African children does not receive basic vaccines needed in order to prevent the spread of different diseases.

In a report released on Wednesday, the WHO said although there had been a rise in child vaccinations in Africa since 2000, more was needed to be done to eliminate diseases such as measles, rubella, and neonatal tetanus, which have been virtually eradicated across the world, but are still deadly in the continent.

"For Africa to achieve its full potential and secure a bright future, we must unite to ensure that every child on the continent receives the vaccines he or she needs to survive and thrive," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa.

Moeti described the report a “wake-up call” for Africa, saying it was “unacceptable that one in five African children lack access to life-saving vaccines.”

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also accused global pharmaceutical companies of charging “inflated vaccine prices," which the group said resulted in the lack of access for poor countries.

"If vaccine prices continue to spiral out of control, we will continue to see countries in Africa and around the world faced with difficult decisions about which deadly diseases they can and can't afford to protect their children against," MSF's international medical coordinator, Myriam Henkens, said.

This comes a week after the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that about one million children living across Africa were suffering from severe acute malnutrition as a result of the current drought and a worsening food and water shortage, as well as growing prices, in the continent.