The Ministry of Public Health says that the number of children infected with measles has increased significantly this year compared to previous years.

According to the ministry officials, more than 40,000 children have been infected with measles this year.

“By the end of the month of May, we will have about ten million doses of vaccine, and after May we will launch a vaccine campaign across Afghanistan to respond,” said Javid Hajir, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.

Hajir considers the lack of a measles vaccination campaign to be one of the main reasons for the increase in the disease in the country and said that to combat the illness the ministry is launching a new measles vaccination campaign.

Based on the statistics of the Ministry of Health, the statistics of measles cases and deaths from 2018 to 2022 are as follows:

In 2018, 29,872 patients have been infected, 215 deaths

In 2019, 4,187 patients have been infected, 10 deaths

In 2020, 5,234 patients have been infected, 18 deaths

In 2021, 30,333 patients have been infected, 108 deaths

And in 2022, 44,200 patients have been infected, and 288 deaths.

Palwasha and Sheida are mothers whose children have been hospitalized due to measles.

“We do not have good food. I wish we had access to good food. My husband got disabled at a young age,” said Palwasha, the mother of the sick child.

“Three days ago he had a fever. Later I noticed that red spots appeared on him. I thought that it might have been because of an allergy ... I saw in the morning that he had a high fever and his condition had worsened,” said Sheida, the mother of the sick child.

Some doctors believe that the reason for the increase in this disease is the poor quality of vaccines.

“Even though people are vaccinated, they are still contracting it. The quality of vaccines should be considered in terms of how the vaccine is stored, whether it is professional or not,” said Mohammad Iqbal Sadegh, chief physician of Andragandi Children's Health Hospital.

However, the Ministry of Public Health said that the World Bank has for the first time approved $150 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, part of which, according to a ministry spokesman, will be allocated to fight measles.