On Feb. 21, 2024, the World Health Organization reported that more than half the world’s countries will be at high or very high risk of measles outbreaks by the end of the year unless urgent preventative measures are taken. Measles cases have been increasing across most regions mainly due to missed vaccinations during the COVID-19 years when health systems were overwhelmed and fell behind on routine vaccinations for preventable diseases.

Measles is a highly contagious, airborne virus that mostly affects children under five years old. It can be prevented by two doses of vaccine and more than 50 million deaths have been averted since 2000, according to the WHO. Cases last year were already up 79% to over 300,000, according to WHO data, – thought to represent just a fraction of the total.