Measles, meningitis, yellow fever... Diseases that can be prevented through vaccination are on the rise in a context of disinformation and cuts in international aid, the U.N. and the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) warned on Wednesday.

"Vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past five decades," commented World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during World Immunization Week. "Financial cuts affecting global health put these hard-won advances at risk. Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases are increasing worldwide, endangering lives and exposing countries to ever-growing costs of treating these diseases and responding to epidemics," he added.

Thus, measles is making a "particularly dangerous comeback," the WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi warned in this joint statement. The number of cases has been increasing each year since 2021, reaching an estimated 10.3 million cases in 2023 (+20% compared to 2022). And this trend has "probably" continued since. In the past 12 months, 138 countries have reported measles cases, including 61 experiencing significant outbreaks, "the highest number since 2019," according to the statement.

Cases of meningitis and yellow fever have also risen significantly in Africa in 2024.

These new upward trends occur in a context of vaccine disinformation, multiple humanitarian crises, population growth, and budget cuts, the statement emphasizes, without specifically mentioning the U.S.'s decision to cut a large part of its foreign aid.

"The global funding crisis severely limits our ability to vaccinate over 15 million vulnerable children against measles in fragile and conflict-affected countries," warned UNICEF Chief Catherine Russell. "Vaccination services, disease surveillance, and epidemic response are already disrupted in nearly 50 countries, with setbacks similar to the COVID-19 period," she added.

Even as countries try to catch up with the delays accumulated during the pandemic, the number of children missing their routine vaccinations has continued to rise. In 2023, an estimated 14.5 million children missed these doses, compared to 13.9 million in 2022 and 12.9 million in 2019. In this context, ahead of its pledging conference on June 25, Gavi is requesting at least $9 billion "to protect 500 million children and save at least 8 million lives between 2026 and 2030."