Global immunisation efforts have led to an 88% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024, according to a new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
WHO noted that nearly 59 million lives have been saved by the measles vaccine over the past 24 years, yet the virus infected an estimated 11 million people in 2024 alone.
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The report shows that about 95,000 people, most of them children under the age of five, died from measles in 2024.
While this represents one of the lowest annual death tolls since 2000, WHO says every death from a disease preventable with a highly effective, low-cost vaccine remains “unacceptable.”
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“Measles is the world’s most contagious virus, and these data show once again how it will exploit any gap in our collective defences against it,” WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus was quoted as saying in his comments.
“Measles does not respect borders, but when every child in every community is vaccinated, costly outbreaks can be avoided, lives can be saved, and the disease can be eliminated from entire nations.”
Surge in infections
While fatalities continue to decline, the WHO report points to an alarming rise in measles infections globally.
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Surges in cases were recorded across multiple regions in 2024: an 86 per cent increase in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, a 47 per cent increase in Europe, and a 42 per cent increase in South-East Asia, compared with 2019.
However, the African Region recorded a 40 per cent decline in cases and a 50 per cent decline in deaths, a shift WHO attributed partly to improving immunisation coverage.
The global health agency notes that many of the recent spikes are occurring in settings where children are less likely to die because of improved access to care and better nutrition. But infection still carries high risks.
Measles can cause severe, lifelong complications, including blindness, pneumonia, and encephalitis: an infection that leads to brain swelling and permanent neurological damage.
Immunisation coverage remains too low
One of the warnings in the WHO publication is that global immunisation levels are still far below what is needed to stop transmission.
WHO noted that to stop the transmission, at least 95 per cent coverage with two doses is required. It stated that more than 30 million children lacked adequate measles protection last year.
Three-quarters of them live in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region, areas where conflict, fragile health systems and humanitarian crises undermine routine immunisation.
WHO observed that improved surveillance is allowing countries to detect and respond to outbreaks more quickly.
More than 760 laboratories in the WHO’s Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network tested over 500,000 samples in 2024, a 27 per cent increase from the previous year. But WHO warns that funding cuts now threaten this progress.
Elimination still distant
WHO further noted that the world’s measles elimination goal remains far from being achieved. By the end of 2024, only 81 countries, 42 per cent, had eliminated measles, an increase of just three countries since before the pandemic.
Recent progress has been made in the Pacific and parts of Africa, with Cabo Verde, Mauritius, and Seychelles verifying measles elimination this month, marking the first time African countries have achieved this milestone.
Measles has also resurged in high-income countries that once eliminated the virus, largely because coverage has fallen below the 95% threshold.
To achieve elimination, WHO calls for strong political commitment, sustained investment, and rapid outbreak detection and response capacity.
It added that high-quality, high-coverage immunisation campaigns are essential where routine services remain weak.
Gavi highlights gaps
Reacting to the WHO report, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said measles vaccination remains one of the most successful public-health interventions in history, having prevented 58.7 million deaths since 2000.
The organisation also highlighted the economic value, saying measles vaccination yields $58 for every dollar invested.
Since 2007, Gavi said it has invested $2.2 billion to support measles and rubella immunisation in 57 lower-income countries, reaching more than 1.3 billion children.
In 2024 alone, it backed catch-up and follow-up campaigns in 24 countries that reached more than 62 million children, alongside outbreak response campaigns in five countries that vaccinated up to 6.8 million children.
Gavi said that African countries, in particular, have improved routine immunisation coverage despite resource constraints, a rising birth cohort, and competing health priorities.
Coverage with the first measles dose rose from 50% in 2000 to 71% in 2024, and second-dose coverage increased from 5% to 55% over the same period.
The region has also recorded a 40 per cent reduction in cases and a 50 per cent decline in deaths compared with 2019.
However, Rebecca Casey, Head of the Measles and Rubella Vaccine Programme at Gavi, warned that coverage gaps continue to leave millions of children at risk.
“The rise in measles cases and outbreaks in regions around the world is a clear warning sign that we must not be complacent,” Ms Casey said. “Every child deserves protection from measles, and it is often the most vulnerable who are at greatest risk.”
Nigeria’s efforts
In a related development, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, launched a massive integrated vaccination campaign in November targeting measles, rubella, polio, HPV, and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
The campaign, led by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) with support from WHO, Gavi, UNICEF and other partners, aims to protect around 106 million children across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The first phase of the campaign covers 11 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), while a second stream covers nine states across the north and northeast.
Preliminary data from the campaign, as of 30 October show that over 58.9 million children have been vaccinated against measles and rubella nationwide.
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