Photo: Anwar Adam\/Save the Children\u00a0<\/p>\n
LONDON\/GENEVA, 23 April 2026 –\u00a0Cases of measles\u00a0increased\u00a0over\u00a025% in conflict\u00a0zones\u00a0last year, with\u00a0attacks on health care,\u00a0aid cuts, vaccine misinformation, and disruption to health systems\u00a0contributing to the worsening crisis,\u00a0said\u00a0Save the Children\u00a0[1].\u00a0<\/p>\n
With World\u00a0Immunization Week beginning\u00a0this Friday, the aid agency is\u00a0calling for renewed global efforts to\u00a0help\u00a0vaccines\u00a0reach\u00a0children and\u00a0warns\u00a0that\u00a0already in 2026\u00a0more than\u00a014,360\u00a0cases of the deadly\u00a0measles\u00a0virus have been confirmed\u00a0across\u00a015\u00a0countries\u00a0facing\u00a0conflict .[2]<\/p>\n
Save the Children\u00a0analysed\u00a0World Health\u00a0Organization\u00a0data and found that in\u00a02025,\u00a018\u00a0countries in conflict recorded\u00a0over 74,340\u00a0cases\u00a0of\u00a0measles, compared to\u00a0about\u00a057,800\u00a0in 2024\u00a0[3].\u00a0These\u00a0countries, despite only\u00a0representing\u00a015% of\u00a0the\u00a0child population in the total number of countries reporting measles cases,\u00a0accounted for 30% of global measles cases,\u00a0showing how countries in conflict are disproportionately more likely to\u00a0be\u00a0impacted\u00a0by a measles outbreak\u00a0[4].\u00a0In addition, while\u00a0these numbers are extremely high, the actual number of\u00a0cases\u00a0is\u00a0estimated to\u00a0be higher still\u00a0due to\u00a0underreporting from disrupted and destroyed health systems\u00a0[5].\u00a0<\/p>\n
While\u00a0two doses of a safe and highly effective vaccine\u00a0provides\u00a0an estimated\u00a097% protection against\u00a0measles\u00a0infections,\u00a0progress in\u00a0immunisation\u00a0rates has stalled or reversed\u00a0in many countries, both conflict and non-conflict affected,\u00a0amid aid cuts, vaccine misinformation, and\u00a0disruption to\u00a0health systems\u00a0and\u00a0service\u00a0delivery [6]. Since it was introduced, the measles vaccine has saved millions of lives\u00a0globally, including nearly 20 million\u00a0in Africa alone since 2000<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>.\u00a0[7]<\/p>\n In Sudan, three years of conflict have devastated the health system and disrupted vaccine and medical supply chains,\u00a0fuelling\u00a0repeated measles outbreaks. Reported cases quintupled between 2024 and 2025 to 7,644, with more than 1,000\u00a0additional\u00a0cases confirmed in the first ten weeks of 2026 alone.\u00a0[8]\u00a0<\/p>\n In Nigeria,\u00a0conflict has combined with\u00a0disruptions in health services, vaccine stock outs,\u00a0long-seated vaccine\u00a0mistrust,\u00a0and disinformation campaigns to\u00a0lead to some of the\u00a0highest numbers of under-vaccinated children in the world\u00a0according to the\u00a0UN [9] [10].<\/p>\n Iya Saheed*, 32,\u00a0from Lagos state\u00a0had refused routine childhood\u00a0immunisations\u00a0for her\u00a0two\u00a0children,\u00a0aged 3 and 1,\u00a0due to a deeply ingrained belief\u00a0in her family\u00a0that a special herbal concoction given to newborns could protect them against childhood illnesses.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n After Save the Children community volunteers explained to\u00a0Iya Saheed\u00a0how vaccines work and addressed her concerns,\u00a0she\u00a0decided to vaccinate her children.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Iya Saheed\u00a0said: \u201cI\u00a0should\u00a0have\u00a0done before\u00a0what I am doing now. Had the community health worker not come to my house and taught me [about vaccines],\u00a0my children\u00a0could\u00a0maybe\u00a0have\u00a0died by now.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was not\u00a0courageous enough\u00a0to bring out my children\u2019s\u00a0immunisation\u00a0card before\u00a0but now, I\u00a0boldly\u00a0come out with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n World Immunization Week,\u00a0which is\u00a0led by the WHO and\u00a0held annually\u00a0during the last\u00a0week of April aims to\u00a0highlight the vital importance of vaccines in\u00a0the fight against diseases. \u00a0<\/p>\n Laura Cardinal, Save the Children\u2019s senior health lead\u00a0said: \u201cWe have known for decades that vaccinations are crucial\u00a0for \u00a0saving children\u2019s lives, so it is deeply worrying to see that measles, a disease that is\u00a0almost entirely \u00a0preventable\u00a0with\u00a0just two doses of\u00a0a safe and effective vaccine,\u00a0is once again\u00a0placing the lives of young children at risk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhile\u00a0measles\u00a0cases\u00a0are\u00a0rising\u00a0in many places,\u00a0outbreaks in countries\u00a0grappling with\u00a0conflict\u00a0are\u00a0particularly\u00a0concerning.\u00a0In\u00a0these countries\u00a0health\u00a0systems\u00a0are\u00a0often\u00a0shattered, children\u2019s immunity\u00a0already\u00a0weakened\u00a0due to conditions such as malnutrition,\u00a0and families are\u00a0uprooted\u00a0from their\u00a0homes\u00a0and unable to access basic health services, all of which\u00a0makes children\u00a0even more\u00a0susceptible\u00a0to\u00a0diseases such as measles.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWithout\u00a0lifesaving\u00a0vaccines,\u00a0outbreaks\u00a0will continue to spread, paediatric wards will continue to fill,\u00a0and children will lose their lives.\u00a0We need to see urgent and sustained investment from all donors and governments to support the delivery of essential health services, especially\u00a0in\u00a0countries affected by conflict and crises, and concerted efforts from all Governments\u00a0and partners\u00a0to increase vaccine rates and protect children against\u00a0infectious\u00a0diseases.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n For more than 30 years, Save the Children has been a global leader in expanding\u00a0equitable\u00a0access to life-saving\u00a0immunisation\u00a0services, particularly in humanitarian, fragile, and low-coverage settings where health systems face significant constraints. We prioritize reaching zero-dose and under immunized children\u00a0by working in partnership with Ministries of Health and local stakeholders.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Notes to editors\u00a0<\/p>\n *Name changed for anonymity\u00a0<\/p>\n [1]\u00a0Save the Children compared data on the number of confirmed\u00a0measles cases from the WHO\u00a0dataset on\u00a0Provisional Monthly Measles and Rubella Cases,\u00a0which is published each month\u00a0here<\/a>, looking at total number of cases in 2024\u00a0(57,825 confirmed cases)\u00a0and 2025\u00a0(74,343)\u00a0across\u00a018\u00a0countries in conflict, calculating the\u00a0percentage\u00a0increase in cases\u00a0between the two years\u00a0across the group of countries\u00a0(28.5%).\u00a0The list\u00a0of countries in conflict\u00a0was\u00a0determined\u00a0using the 2026\u00a0UN OCHA Global Humanitarian Overview\u00a0(GHO),<\/a>\u00a0which was\u00a0published\u00a0in 2025\u00a0and\u00a0identifies\u00a0countries where\u00a0current conflict\u00a0is a driver of humanitarian needs. The countries with\u00a0conflict reporting the most\u00a0confirmed\u00a0cases of measles in 2025\u00a0include:\u00a0Yemen\u00a0(32,448 cases),\u00a0Nigeria\u00a0(19,225), Sudan\u00a0(7,644),\u00a0Democratic Republic of the\u00a0Congo\u00a0(4,320)\u00a0and Cameroon\u00a0(4,139).\u00a0<\/p>\n [3] See\u00a0methodology\u00a0note 1.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n [4]\u00a0There were 254,384 confirmed measles cases globally in 2025, of which 74,343\u00a0(29%)\u00a0were in conflict countries.\u00a0The\u00a0total\u00a0population\u00a0of all countries reporting confirmed measles cases in 2025 is\u00a0around\u00a07.7\u00a0billion\u00a0of which the population of conflict countries with confirmed measles cases is 804.7 million (10%).\u00a0The total child population in measles reporting countries was 2.3\u00a0billion\u00a0of which\u00a0337.8 million\u00a0(15%) are in conflict-affected countries.\u00a0All population data is taken from UN World Population Prospects.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n