Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, nov 29: Nearly 59 million lives have been saved by the measles vaccine between 2000 and 2024, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report released on Friday. The global push for immunisation has led to an 88% decline in measles deaths over the 24-year period.
However, despite this remarkable progress, the report reveals a worrying resurgence of measles worldwide. An estimated 11 million infections occurred in 2024—about 800,000 more than in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted routine vaccinations. The disease killed 95,000 people in 2024, the majority of them children under five.
“Measles is the world’s most contagious virus, and these data show once again how it will exploit any gap in our collective defences,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He stressed that when every child is vaccinated, countries can prevent outbreaks and even eliminate the disease entirely.
To stop transmission, WHO recommends 95% coverage with two doses of the measles vaccine. But in 2024, only 84% of children received the first dose and 76% received the second. While this marks a modest recovery—2 million additional children were immunised compared to last year—coverage still falls far short of what is needed.
The report highlights sharp regional differences:
• The African Region saw a 40% drop in cases and 50% decline in deaths compared to 2019.
• Meanwhile, cases surged 86% in the Eastern Mediterranean, 47% in Europe, and 42% in South-East Asia.
Large or significant outbreaks were documented in 59 countries, nearly triple the number in 2021 and the highest since the start of the pandemic. WHO warned that these outbreaks reflect deep weaknesses in national immunisation systems.
More than 30 million children remained under-protected in 2024. The report also flagged substantial funding cuts to vaccination programmes, which may further widen immunity gaps and fuel outbreaks in the coming year.
While 96 countries have successfully eliminated measles, WHO cautioned that the global goal of eliminating the disease by 2030 is still far from reach.