More than half of the world’s countries will be exposed to a high or very high risk of measles by the end of the year if urgent preventive measures are not taken, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
Measles cases are on the rise in most regions largely due to missed vaccinations during the Covid-19 years, when health systems were overwhelmed and lagging behind on routine vaccinations against preventable diseases.
“What we’re worried about is that this year, 2024, we have these big gaps in our immunization programs and if we don’t fill them very quickly with a vaccine, measles will just jump into that gap,” said WHO Senior Technical Advisor Nataša Crowcroft at press conference in Geneva.
She called for urgent action to protect children, saying there was a “lack of commitment” given current issues such as the economic crisis and conflict.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne virus that mainly affects children under the age of five. It can be prevented with two doses of the vaccine. More than 50 million deaths have been prevented since 2000, according to the WHO.
