Islamabad, April 29 (IANS) At least 71 children have died due to measles in Pakistan in 2026 even as the government is holding awareness campaigns to improve healthcare literacy and vaccine knowledge during the ongoing World Immunisation Week, a report has stated.

As predicted in 2025, lower vaccination rates have affected international community’s efforts to stop spread of preventable diseases. Measles is a highly contagious viral disease and remains an important cause of death among young children globally. Measles can be prevented through vaccination. During vaccination campaigns, Pakistan government provides free MR (Measles and Rubella) vaccine at public health centres. However, people’s hesitancy to receive a vaccine becomes a hindrance, an editorial in Pakistan’s leading daily The Express Tribune detailed.

“There are currently over one million ‘zero-dose’ children in Pakistan, that is, those who never received a vaccination. For certain regions, healthcare accessibility causes the persistence of such a large number, but oftentimes, it is the stigmas attached to vaccines,” an editorial in The Express Tribune stated.

Pakistan has been named among the top 10 countries with the highest number of zero-dose children and the country requires bigger awareness campaigns so that every single child, even those residing in the remotest areas, get access to vaccines.

As many as 71 children, including 40 in Sindh, have died in Pakistan due to measles in the first four months of 2026. Among these 71 children, Sindh topped the list with 40 deaths followed by 12 each in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and four in Balochistan in the first four months of 2026, Pakistan’s Dawn reported citing official figures.

As many as 4,541 measles cases have been reported in Pakistan in the first four months of 2026 with 1,712 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,198 in Punjab, 1,183 in Sindh, 17 in Balochistan, 55 in Islamabad, 151 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and 45 in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB)

–IANS

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