UNICEF Reports 3,000-Fold Increase in Measles Cases in Europe and Central Asia

UNICEF said that the number of measles cases in Europe and Central Asia has increased by 3,000 times compared to last year.

Monsignor Joji Vadakara, Vatican News

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, there has been a huge increase in the number of measles cases worldwide, and the number of measles cases in Europe and Central Asia will increase three thousand times by 2022. UNICEF shared this information through a press release issued on Thursday, December 14.

UNICEF reported 30,601 cases of measles in Europe and Central Asia between January and December 5, 2023. The Child Welfare Fund explained that during the same period in 2022, only 909 people were infected in these areas, an increase of about 3,266 percent.

Kazakhstan is estimated to have the highest infection rate. About 13,254 people have been diagnosed with measles there. The disease has spread here at the rate of 69 people out of 100,000 people. Kyrgyzstan has the second highest number of infected people. As many as 3,811 cases have been reported in the country, which is 58 per 100,000 people. In Romania, 1,855 people were infected with measles.

An estimated 931,000 children in Europe and Central Asia did not receive measles vaccines in whole or in part between 2019 and 2021. Fewer children in these areas received measles vaccines than last year. In 2022, nearly 93% of children received this vaccine.

Between October and November this year, the number of cases in Europe and Central Asia doubled.

In this dire crisis, UNICEF has called for more financial support to reach children who have not received immunizations as soon as possible, to make vaccines available, and to provide primary care.

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2023-12-14 15:01:17