16 hours Ago By Mohammad Asem
KABUL (Pajhwok): Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in Afghanistan have reported a surge in measles patients at three hospitals since January. MSF stated in a press release while measles was endemic in Afghanistan, the high number of cases so early in the year was a cause for concern. At least one child in Afghanistan has died from measles every day so far in 2025, according to data collected by MSF staff at major hospitals in Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat City and Lashkargah.
This represents almost three times as many deaths as were recorded during the same period last year. “These are preventable deaths. Measles can be a deadly disease, particularly for children with underlying health conditions such as malnutrition or congenital heart defects.
” the MSF country representative. Mickael Le Paih, however, added it could also be prevented with a vaccine, although immunisation coverage remained low in Afghanistan. Rapid and targeted vaccination at the community level in districts most affected by ongoing outbreaks could help reduce the number of measles cases, thereby freeing up hospital beds for children with less preventable conditions.
At the three hospitals in Afghanistan where MSF teams are supporting measles detection and treatment, 4,799 children suspected of having measles have been seen in the first eight weeks of 2025. This includes both complicated measles cases (25 per cent) that require hospitalisation, and less severe cases (75 per cent) that require outpatient treatment. At Herat Regional Hospital, MSF has launched an emergency response to cope with the high number of complicated measles cases, expanding its measles isolation ward from 11 to 60 beds, hiring additional staff, and procuring emergency medications.
In the first eight weeks of 2025, 664 patients were admitted, representing a 180 per cent increase in cases compared to 2024. At Boost Provincial Hospital in Helmand, MSF has seen 1,866 suspected measles cases in the same period, a 369 per cent increase compared to 2024. At Mazar-i-Sharif Regional Hospital, MSF has treated 1,499 suspected measles patients so far, alongside the Ministry of Public Health, marking a 35.
6 per cent increase in cases compared to 2024. “We are dedicating additional resources, but we are already running out of space for patients suffering not just from measles, but also from seasonal illnesses,” says Le Paih. MSF runs seven projects in Bamyan, Helmand, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar, Khost, and Kunduz, with a particular focus on providing secondary healthcare services.
In 2024, MSF teams provided more than 404,500 emergency room consultations, 245,557 outpatient consultations, 119,349 inpatient admissions, assisted 45,061 deliveries, and performed 18,149 surgical interventions. More than 13,030 measles patients were treated, 9,751 children were admitted to inpatient therapeutic feeding centres, and 4,016 children were enrolled in outpatient therapeutic feeding centres. pr/sa/mud.
