About 75% of global measles cases in 2022 were in Africa

• About 6.75 million measles cases were recorded in Africa in 2022, an 18% increase from 2021. 
• Covid-19 disrupted measles vaccination programmes, resulting in about 33 million children missing a complete vaccination, more than 70% of them in Africa.
• WHO said 28 of the 37 countries experiencing large or disruptive measles outbreaks are in Africa.

About 75% of global measles cases in 2022 were in Africa during a year in which there was an 18% increase in the number of global cases and 48% of fatalities compared to 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

In a new report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), the estimated number of measles cases globally reached 9 million (6.75 million in Africa), and deaths were around 136 000 – mostly among children.

WHO said the measles cases were "large or disruptive," with only the Americas and Australia without recorded cases.

"In 2022, 37 countries experienced large or disruptive measles outbreaks, compared with 22 countries in 2021. Of the countries experiencing outbreaks, 28 were in the WHO Region for Africa, six in the Eastern Mediterranean, two in Southeast Asia, and one in the European Region," WHO said in a statement.

John Vertefeuille, director of the CDC's global immunisation division, said the increase in cases was due to the reduced vaccination drives, particularly in Africa, the most affected part of the world.

"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," he said.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, most public health crises were neglected as the world switched to maximising Covid-19 vaccination initiatives.

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As such, urgent, targeted efforts are critical to prevent measles disease and deaths, he added.

Kate O'Brien, WHO director for immunisation, vaccines, and biologicals, said the slow uptake during the Covid-19 pandemic era was of concern.

She said:

While global vaccination coverage increased somewhat from 2021 to 2022, about 33 million children missed a measles vaccine dose: approximately 22 million missed their first dose, and an additional 11 million missed their second dose. 

The global vaccine coverage rate for the first dosage was 83%, while the second dose was 74%, both of which were considerably below the 95% coverage with two doses required to protect communities against epidemics, WHO said.

Poor nations, where the danger of mortality from measles is highest, continue to have the lowest vaccination rates, at only 66%, indicating little rebound from the pandemic's backsliding.

Over half of the 22 million children who did not receive their first dose of measles vaccination in 2022 live in just 10 countries: Angola, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines, the global health body said.

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