Raging measles outbreak killed 150 in Afghanistan in January: WHO

Geneva [Switzerland], February 14 : Amid the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the raging measles outbreak infected tens of thousands and killed more than 150 people in Afghanistan last month, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier on Friday told a media briefing in the Swiss capital measles cases had been on the rise in all provinces of Afghanistan since the end of July 2021, reported Pajhwok Afghan News.
He said a total of 35,319 suspected measles cases were reported in January, including 3,000 that were laboratory confirmed, and 156 deaths. Ninety-one per cent of the cases and 97 per cent of the deaths were children under the age of five.
"The rapid rise in cases in January suggests that the number of deaths due to measles is likely to increase sharply in the coming weeks," he added.
The Geneva-based UN health agency said that the outbreak was particularly concerning as Afghanistan was facing massive food insecurity and malnutrition, reported Pajhwok.
This comes as Afghanistan's health situation is also on the brink of collapse and is in dire need of international aid and support after the Taliban took control of the war-torn nation last August.
Moreover, a combination of a suspension of foreign aid, the freezing of Afghan government assets, and international sanctions on the Taliban have plunged the country, already suffering from high poverty levels, into a full-blown economic crisis.