Progress towards measles elimination--African Region, 2017-2021/Progres realises en vue d'eliminer la rougeole--Region africaine, 2017-2021

Worldwide, measles remains a major cause of disease and death; the highest incidence is in the WHO African Region (AFR). In 2011, the 46 Member States in the AFR established the goal of regional elimination of measles by 2020; this report describes progress during 2017-2021. Regional coverage with a first dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV) decreased from 70% in 2017 to 68% in 2021, and the number of countries with [greater than or equal to] 95% coverage decreased from 6 (13%) to 2 (4%). The number of countries that provided a second MCV dose increased from 27 (57%) to 38 (81%), and coverage with a second-dose increased from 25% to 41%. Approximately 341 million people were vaccinated during supplementary immunization activities (SIAs), and an estimated 4.5 million deaths were averted by vaccination. The number of countries that met measles surveillance performance indicators decreased, however, from 26 (62%) to 9 (22%). Measles incidence increased from 69.2 per 1 million population in 2017 to 81.9 in 2021. The number of estimated annual measles cases and deaths increased by 22% and 8%, respectively. By December 2021, no country had received verification of measles elimination. To achieve a renewed regional goal of measles elimination in at least 80% of countries by 2030, intensified work is necessary to recover and surpass levels of surveillance performance and coverage with 2 MCV doses that were achieved before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.