Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on countries worldwide to invest in the immunisation of their citizens no matter where they found themselves.
He revealed that measles vaccine had saved more lives than any other vaccine in the past 50 years hence investing in immunisation would stop the deadly virus from harming the most vulnerable.
A joint news release by the WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), noted that measles cases surged worldwide, resulting in infecting an estimated 10.3 million people in 2023, an increase of 20 per cent from 2022 according to new estimates.
According to the WHO and CDC, inadequate immunisation coverage globally was driving the surge in cases.
They said measles was preventable with two doses of measles vaccine yet more than 22 million children missed their first dose of measles vaccine in 2023.
The release also noted that globally, an estimated 83 per cent of children received their first dose of measles vaccine in 2023 while only 74 per cent received the recommended second dose.
It said coverage of 95 per cent or greater of two doses of measles vaccine was needed in each country and community to prevent outbreaks and protect populations from one of the world’s most contagious human viruses.
Mandy Cohen, Director, CDC, said the number of measles infections were rising around the globe, endangering lives and health.
She said: “The measles vaccine is our best protection against the virus, and we must continue to invest in efforts to increase access.”
The release revealed that as a result of global gaps in vaccination coverage, 57 countries experienced large or disruptive measles outbreaks in 2023, affecting all regions except the Americas, and representing a nearly 60 per cent increase from 36 countries in the previous year.
The WHO African, Eastern Mediterranean, European, South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions experienced a substantial upsurge in cases.
The release said nearly half of all large or disruptive outbreaks occurred in the African region.
It said the new data showed that an estimated 107,500 people, mostly children younger than five years of age, died due to measles in 2023.
The release said although it was an eight per cent decrease from the previous year, far too many children were still dying from the preventable disease.
It said the slight reduction in deaths was mainly because the surge in cases occurred in countries and regions where children with measles were less likely to die, due to better nutritional status and access to health services.
Even when people survived measles, serious health effects could occur, some of which were lifelong.
“Infants and young children are at greatest risk of serious complications from the disease which include blindness, pneumonia, and encephalitis,” the release noted.
The release said as measles cases surged and outbreaks increased, the world’s elimination goal, as laid out in Immunization Agenda 2030, was under threat adding that worldwide, 82 countries had achieved or maintained measles elimination by the end of 2023.
It said urgent and targeted efforts by countries and partners, particularly in the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions, and in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings, were needed to vaccinate all children fully with two doses of measles vaccine.
The release called on countries and global immunization partners to also strengthen disease surveillance, including the Global Measles Rubella Laboratory Network (GMRLN).
“Strong disease surveillance is critical to optimizing immunisation programmes and detecting and responding rapidly to measles outbreaks in order to mitigate their size and impact,” it said.
