Unprecedented rise in measles outbreak, 25k Afghan children contracted

As Afghanistan is suffering from the worst economic situation and mass poverty, the outbreak of infectious measles is another headache that is contributing to the suffering of vulnerable Afghans.

The Public Health Ministry of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said that 25,000 children have contracted the disease during the first three months of 2022 with 12,000 cases recorded only in past one month.

This is the highest number of measles cases Afghanistan ever witnessed.

Spokesperson of the Ministry Javed Hazheer said 186 children have died from the disease during the time span, some hospitals are purportedly overwhelmed with the children suffering from measles.

The Afghan capital Kabul, Kunduz, and Helmand provinces are at the top with the highest number of positive cases.

The unprecedented increase in the number of cases of measles is apparently due to a vaccination campaign not being implemented in the past two years but World Health Organization has said they vaccinated over one million Afghan children in the past one month.

The WHO also plans to vaccinate three million children in 111 districts in the upcoming months.

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