Rohit Shishodia
A new estimate of The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that measles killed more than 1.4 lakh people in 2018.

The UN agency has pointed out that lack of vaccination and outbreaks has led to a surge in deaths and cases due to measles which is preventable with vaccination.

The WHO said that the greatest impact of measles has been in poorest countries but rich countries have also been battling measles outbreaks.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, Director-General, WHO, has said that the fact that any child dies from a vaccine-preventable disease like measles is frankly an outrage and a collective failure to protect the world’s most vulnerable children.

He added, “To save lives, we must ensure everyone can benefit from vaccines - which means investing in immunization and quality health care as a right for all.”

The WHO recommends 95% measles vaccination of children but in 2018, 86% children could receive first dose of vaccination and fewer than 70% got second dose of vaccination. This has led to outbreaks and deaths due to measles.  

Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has said that it is a tragedy that the world is seeing a rapid increase in cases and deaths from a disease that is easily preventable with a vaccine.

“While hesitancy and complacency are challenges to overcome, the largest measles outbreaks have hit countries with weak routine immunization and health systems. We must do better at reaching the most vulnerable, and that will be a fundamental focus of Gavi’s next five-year period,” he added.

The WHO has said that over the last 18 years, measles vaccination alone is estimated to have saved more than 23 million lives. The WHO has called for need of investment and commitment to ensure effective measles response.