On Nov. 28, 2025, the the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that global immunization efforts have led to an 88% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024, according to a new report. Nearly 59 million lives have been saved by the measles vaccine since 2000.

However, an estimated 95,000 people, mostly children younger than 5 years of age, died due to measles in 2024. While this is among the lowest annual tolls recorded since 2000, every death from a disease that could be prevented with a highly effective and low-cost vaccine is unacceptable. Despite fewer deaths, measles cases are surging worldwide, with an estimated 11 million infections in 2024 – nearly 800,000 more than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

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 immunized. 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. Three-quarters of them live in the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions, often in fragile, conflict-affected or vulnerable settings. 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. In 2024, more than 760 laboratories participating in the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network (GMRLN) tested over 500 000 samples, an increase of 27% from the previous year.

The world’s elimination goal, as laid out in IA2030, remains a distant one. By the end of 2024, 81 countries (42%) had eliminated measles, only three additional countries since before the pandemic. Measles has resurged in recent years, even in high-income countries that once eliminated it, because immunization 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 is needed to ensure all children receive two doses of the measles vaccine and surveillance systems can rapidly detect outbreaks. The IA2030 Mid-Term Review calls on countries and partners to strengthen routine immunization, surveillance and rapid outbreak response capabilities, and to deliver high-quality, high-coverage campaigns when routine immunization is not yet sufficient to protect every child.