At least 71 children have lost their lives to measles in Pakistan in 2026, despite ongoing efforts by the government to raise awareness about healthcare and vaccines during World Immunisation Week. The lower vaccination rates predicted in 2025 have hampered global attempts to curb the spread of preventable diseases, with measles remaining a significant cause of death among young children worldwide. Pakistan offers free MR (Measles and Rubella) vaccines at public health centers, but vaccine hesitancy among the population poses a challenge, as highlighted in an editorial in The Express Tribune.
The editorial pointed out that Pakistan currently has over one million “zero-dose” children who have never received a vaccination, attributing this to issues of healthcare accessibility and societal misconceptions about vaccines. Pakistan is listed among the top 10 countries with the highest number of zero-dose children, emphasizing the need for extensive awareness campaigns to ensure that every child, even those in remote areas, can access vaccines. In the first four months of 2026, 71 children succumbed to measles in Pakistan, with Sindh recording the highest number of deaths at 40, followed by 12 each in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and four in Balochistan, according to official reports cited by Pakistan’s Dawn.
Pakistan has reported a total of 4,541 measles cases in the first four months of 2026, with the highest numbers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh. The figures also include cases in Balochistan, Islamabad, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB).
