Nearly all countries in the world have committed to eliminate measles. We have an effective, inexpensive combined vaccine that can stop measles and rubella.

For about $2, a child can be vaccinated against measles and rubella, making it one of the most cost-effective health interventions available.

Global progress against measles has been stunning. In just over a decade, more than 2 billion doses of measles vaccine have been delivered to children in 88 countries with support from the Measles & Rubella Initiative.

Measles vaccination coverage is now 85% globally compared with 72% in 2001.

Measles deaths are down by 79%. Measles vaccinations are making a huge contribution toward MDG4.

No single other health intervention has returned these mortality reduction results in such a short space of time.

Measles incidence decreased in four of six of the World Health Regions from 2013 to 2014, including the African Region, Eastern Mediterranean Region, the European Region, and the South-East Asia Region.

• While decreases occurred in the above regions, large outbreaks were still reported in Angola, Ethiopia, Somalia, India and Russia.
• Increased number of measles cases were reported in 2014 from the Americas Region, largely because of outbreaks in Brazil and the United States.
• The Western Pacific Region also had an increase of cases due to large outbreaks reported in China, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The Measles vaccine has averted 20.3 million deaths since 2000. Learn more about the vaccine here.