Measles cases on the rise in Africa

About 17500 cases of measles have been reported between January and March 2022 in Africa. Disclosing these figures, the WHO talked of a 400% rise compared to the same period last year in 20 African countries .

Countries are expected to attain and maintain measles vaccination coverage of 95% with two doses to reach measles elimination status. In 2019, six countries in the African region attained 95% coverage with the first dose of measles vaccination, while only three met this target in 2020.

Outbreaks of other diseases have witnessed a surge in recent years as well. In 2021, 24 countries confirmed outbreaks of a variant of polio, 4 more than in 2020 while 13 countries reported new yellow fever outbreaks in the African region, compared to nine in 2020 and three in 2019