WHO warns of global measles threat as Pakistan fails in vaccinating children
GENEVA (MNP) – A latest report warns that measles cases in 2022 increased by 18 per cent and deaths by 43pc globally – a sharp increase when compared to 2021 – following years of declines in vaccination coverage.
“This takes the estimated number of measles cases to 9 million and deaths to 136,000 – mostly among children,” says a report prepared jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Unfortunately, Pakistan is among the 10 countries – for the second consecutive year – with the highest number of infants who did not receive MCV1 (first dose of the measles-containing vaccine). These 10 countries accounted for 55pc of all children worldwide who did not receive MCV1.
Nigeria (3 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo (1.8 million), Ethiopia (1.7 million), India (1.1 million), Pakistan (1.1 million), Angola (0.8 million), Philippines (0.8 million), Indonesia (0.7 million), Brazil (0.5 million) and Madagascar (0.5 million).
According to the WHO, measles continues to pose a relentlessly increasing threat to children. In 2022, 37 countries experienced large or disruptive measles outbreaks compared with 22 countries in 2021. Of the countries experiencing outbreaks, 28 were in Africa, six in the Eastern Mediterranean, two in the Southeast Asia and one in Europe.
“The increase in measles outbreaks and deaths is staggering, but unfortunately, not unexpected given the declining vaccination rates we’ve seen in the past few years,” said John Vertefeuille, director of CDC’s Global Immunization Division.
