Over the first three months of 2024, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in Balkh, Herat and Helmand provinces of Afghanistan witnessed a surge in suspected measles cases, with the cases in Herat affecting a worryingly high number of infants under the age of one.
Measles is endemic in Afghanistan and every year around this time MSF facilities see an increase in measles cases. MSF currently provides care and supports the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in managing suspected measles cases in three healthcare facilities – each in Balkh, Herat and Helmand provinces.
In Balkh Province, MSF provides financial support for doctors, nurses and other support staff as well as medical supplies and consumables to the MoPH to run a 36-bed isolation unit at the Mazar-i-Sharif Regional Hospital. The surge in the first three months of the year saw the isolation unit constantly operate at over 200% capacity and forcing children to share beds in some instances.