Health workers inject immunization vaccines into children at Flamboyan RPTRA, Menteng Dalam Village, South Jakarta, Wednesday, (4/6/2025). The Tebet District Health Center is holding an Immunization Festival as an effort to increase complete basic immunization coverage and prevent diseases that can be prevented by immunization (PD3I) in early childhood. The immunization vaccines given in this activity include Bacile Calmerte Guerin (BCG), Diphtheria Pertussis and Detanus (DPT), Measles, Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine 3 (PCV3) and so on.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Measles cases have soared again in various countries, including countries that had previously been declared successful in eliminating the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the target of global elimination of measles is now a distant goal.
In the latest WHO report, deaths from measles have actually fallen drastically by 88 percent from 2000 to 2024, with an estimated 58 million lives saved thanks to vaccination. However, decreasing immunization coverage has caused transmission to spread again.
Reporting from CNNMonday (1/12/2025), WHO noted that 59 countries reported large or disturbing measles outbreaks last year, almost three times as many as in 2021. A quarter of the outbreaks occurred in countries previously declared measles-free, including Canada and the United States.
“Efforts to globally eliminate measles are still a distant goal,” wrote the WHO report released Friday (28/11/2025). The institute said progress over the past few decades was now under threat, as outbreaks resurfaced and support for immunization and disease surveillance programs declined. Including reduced United States government support for global health.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 1,798 confirmed cases of measles so far this year, the highest number since the country reached elimination status in 2000. “Measles remains the most infectious virus in the world,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Despite the availability of highly effective and low-cost vaccines, these diseases exploit gaps in immunization coverage.
Globally, more than 30 million children will not be fully protected against measles in 2024.
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