World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the world has made remarkable progress against measles over the past two decades — but warns that the gains are now at risk as infections surge across multiple regions.
According to new figures released on Friday, global immunisation efforts helped drive an 88 per cent drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024, saving an estimated 59 million lives. Yet the disease remains far from defeated.
“However, an estimated 95,000 people, mostly children under five, died from measles in 2024,” the WHO noted, stressing that every loss of life to a preventable illness is “unacceptable.”
Despite the sharp fall in deaths, the virus is spreading faster than before.
WHO estimates 11 million measles cases occurred in 2024 — almost 800,000 more than were recorded in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine vaccinations around the world.
Measles, described by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus as “the world’s most contagious virus,” thrives wherever immunisation rates dip.
“Measles does not respect borders, but full vaccination of every child prevents outbreaks, saves lives, and can eliminate the disease entirely from nations,” he said, calling for urgent action to plug the gaps in global protection.
The WHO report paints a mixed picture across regions. In 2024, measles cases spiked 86 per cent in the Eastern Mediterranean, 47 per cent in Europe, and 42 per cent in South-East Asia compared to pre-pandemic levels.
By contrast, the African Region saw a 40 per cent drop in cases and a 50 per cent fall in deaths, thanks to stronger routine vaccination and targeted health campaigns.
Ghebreyesus cautioned that even in wealthy nations, measles infections still pose serious risks. “While mortality may be lower in high-income countries, infected individuals still risk blindness, pneumonia, and encephalitis, resulting in lifelong complications,” he said.
The latest vaccination data underscores why outbreaks continue. In 2024, 84 per cent of children received the first measles vaccine dose, yet only 76 per cent got the crucial second dose, far below the 95 per cent coverage needed to stop transmission.
“That’s an improvement on 2023, with two million more children immunised, but we are still falling short,” Ghebreyesus warned. More than 30 million children remain under-protected — most living in conflict zones, remote communities, or underserved areas in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The agency’s Immunisation Agenda 2030 Mid-Term Review shows a consistent pattern: measles is always the first disease to resurface when vaccination coverage slips, spotlighting weaknesses in national health systems.
In 2024, 59 countries experienced large or disruptive outbreaks — the most since the start of the pandemic. Every region except the Americas had at least one major outbreak that year, though the Americas itself faced renewed surges in 2025.
Surveillance capacity has improved, with more than 760 laboratories in the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network testing over 500,000 samples in 2024, a 27 per cent increase from the previous year.
But this progress may be short-lived. Ghebreyesus warned that funding cuts threaten immunisation programmes and laboratory systems, potentially creating fresh immunity gaps unless governments and partners step up support.
By the end of 2024, 81 countries had eliminated measles, only three more than before COVID-19. In total, 96 nations have now been verified for elimination following updates in 2025 — a reminder of both progress made and how fragile it remains.
“Even high-income countries experience resurgences when local vaccination drops below 95 per cent,” Ghebreyesus said.
“Unprotected pockets enable outbreaks in spite of high national coverage.”
He stressed that stamping out measles demands unwavering political commitment, stable financing, strong surveillance, and persistent effort to ensure every child receives two doses of the vaccine.
The IA2030 review urges countries to reinforce routine immunisation, strengthen outbreak response, and maintain high-coverage campaigns “to protect every child until vaccination coverage is sufficient to prevent transmission.”
