The World Health Organization has reported an increase in suspected measles cases in Afghanistan over the past two weeks, following a modest decrease observed in the previous four weeks. According to the UN health agency, the trend in 2024 is higher than that of 2023.

In the 18th week of 2024, the WHO recorded 1,530 suspected cases of measles and two associated deaths. The deaths occurred in Kabul and Kandahar, affecting children under five years old, including one girl.

Since the start of the year, there have been 21,843 suspected measles cases and 100 deaths, indicating a case fatality rate of 0.5%. Of these cases, 17,611 (80.6%) were among children under five, and 9,871 (45.2%) were female.