A joint publication by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that Nigeria and nine other countries account for over half of the 22 million children worldwide who missed their first measles vaccine dose in 2022.
According to the report, measles cases globally in 2022 increased by 18% to over nine million, deaths went up by 43 percent (136,200) compared to 2021 while 37 countries experienced outbreaks in 2022.
“Of the 22 million children who missed their first measles vaccine dose in 2022, over half live in just 10 countries, six of which are lower-income countries supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Pakistan),”
It said the findings reiterated the continued need for accelerated efforts to support recovery from the pandemic and strengthen health systems, especially in the lower income countries most impacted by this deadly disease.
Chief programme officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Aurélia Nguyen, said;
“Measles is a highly contagious and deadly disease; preventing outbreaks requires consistently vaccinating at least 95% of eligible children. This was already challenging before the pandemic and with cases, outbreaks and preventable deaths rising so sharply due to increased immunity gaps related to the pandemic, it shows how even more important it is that our Alliance provides an unprecedented level of support to countries in 2024.”
