PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN: A shocking health crisis has gripped the province as 57 children have lost their lives to measles this year — a disease long considered preventable through routine vaccination. The alarming figures reveal widening immunisation gaps and highlight the urgent need for stronger public-health mechanisms.
According to official data from the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), over 14,000 suspected cases of measles were reported in the province this year, with more than 5,500 confirmed through laboratory testing. Officials revealed that the majority of deceased children had not received even a single vaccine dose, exposing deep cracks in outreach and awareness.
Dr Asghar Ali, Provincial Director of EPI, stated that 65 percent of the deaths occurred among unvaccinated children, stressing that timely immunisation could have saved their lives. He warned that malnutrition and lack of access to health services in remote areas have made children even more vulnerable.
Experts link the surge in cases to the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted vaccination drives across multiple districts. With poor awareness and vaccine hesitancy still rampant in rural communities, thousands of children remain at risk.
In response, the provincial health department has rolled out a catch-up vaccination campaign targeting more than one million children in high-risk areas. Mobile vaccination units, health-awareness teams and outbreak-response centres have been deployed to curb the spread before winter intensifies the threat.
Public-health experts assert that such deaths are a grim reminder of how preventable tragedies continue to occur in Pakistan due to weak health infrastructure and misinformation. The situation demands swift, coordinated action to ensure that no child dies of a disease that science has already defeated.
This story has been reported by PakTribune. All rights reserved.