However, the African Region experienced a 40% decline in cases and 50% decline in deaths over this period, partly due to increasing immunisation coverage.

While recent measles surges are occurring in countries and regions where children are less likely to die due to better nutrition and access to health care, those infected remain at risk of serious, lifelong complications such as blindness, pneumonia, and encephalitis (an infection causing brain swelling and potentially brain damage).

In 2024, an estimated 84% of children received their first dose of the measles vaccine, and only 76% received the second, according to WHO/UNICEF estimates.

This is a slight improvement from the previous year, with 2 million more children immunised.

According to WHO guidance, at least 95% coverage with two measles vaccine doses is required to stop transmission and protect communities from outbreaks.

More than 30 million children remained under-protected against measles in 2024.

The Immunisation Agenda 2030 (IA2030) Mid-Term Review, also released today, stresses that measles is often the first disease to resurge when vaccination coverage drops. Growing measles outbreaks are exposing weaknesses in immunisation programmes and health systems globally, and threatening progress towards IA2030 targets, including measles elimination.

In 2024, 59 countries reported large or disruptive measles outbreaks – nearly triple the number reported in 2021 and the highest since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. All regions except the Americas had at least one country experiencing a large outbreak in 2024. The situation changed in 2025 with numerous countries in the Americas battling outbreaks.

Efforts to scale up measles surveillance have improved WHO and countries' abilities to identify and respond to outbreaks, and for some countries to achieve elimination.

By the end of 2024, 81 countries (42%) had eliminated measles, with only three additional countries since before the pandemic.

Measles has resurged in recent years, even in high-income countries that once eliminated it, because immunisation rates have dropped below the 95% threshold. Even when overall coverage is high nationally, pockets of unvaccinated communities with lower coverage rates can leave people at risk and result in outbreaks and ongoing transmission.

To achieve measles elimination, strong political commitment and sustained investment are needed to ensure all children receive two doses of the measles vaccine and surveillance systems can rapidly detect outbreaks.