# Measles in Somalia: cases by year and the outbreaks of 2014 to 2022 > Measles in Somalia: cases reported to WHO each year since 1978, vaccine coverage since 2000, the 2014 and 2017 outbreaks, and the national vaccination campaigns. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/society/measles-in-somalia/ Last checked: 2026-11-13 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## In short Measles cases in Somalia have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1978. The highest yearly counts are in drought years: **23,039 in 2017**, 17,361 in 2022 and 17,298 in 2011 ([WHO Global Health Observatory, measles reported cases, Somalia](https://ghoapi.azureedge.net/api/WHS3_62?$filter=SpatialDim%20eq%20%27SOM%27)). OCHA described measles as "endemic" and said numbers rise "as the drought conditions" spread ([ReliefWeb, Somalia: Measles Outbreak 2016–2026](https://reliefweb.int/disaster/ep-2016-000131-som); OCHA, 2021). ## Cases reported to WHO | Year | Cases | | Year | Cases | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1978 | 79 | | 2010 | 115 | | 1983 | 622 | | 2011 | 17,298 | | 1984 | 487 | | 2012 | 9,983 | | 1985 | 128 | | 2013 | 3,173 | | 1986 | 70 | | 2014 | 10,229 | | 1987 | 222 | | 2015 | 7,497 | | 1988 | 296 | | 2016 | 26 | | 1989 | 988 | | 2017 | 23,039 | | 1996 | 1,830 | | 2018 | 9,126 | | 1998 | 3,075 | | 2019 | 283 | | 1999 | 5,523 | | 2020 | 2,531 | | 2000 | 3,965 | | 2021 | 7,191 | | 2001 | 3,571 | | 2022 | 17,361 | | 2002 | 9,559 | | 2023 | 3,167 | | 2003 | 8,257 | | 2024 | 1,529 | | 2004 | 12,008 | | 2025 | 1,867 | | 2006 to 2009 | 7; 1,149; 1,081; 13 | | | | Source: WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator WHS3_62, downloaded 13 November 2026. Years not shown were not reported. The WHO figures are official national reports and can differ from UN field counts of suspected cases. For 2016, WHO lists 26 cases, while OCHA reported 5,657 suspected cases for that year (OCHA, 16 May 2017). ## Vaccine coverage WHO and UNICEF estimate the share of one-year-olds who received a first measles dose (MCV1) and of children who received a second dose (MCV2) ([WHO GHO, MCV1](https://ghoapi.azureedge.net/api/WHS8_110?$filter=SpatialDim%20eq%20%27SOM%27); [WHO GHO, MCV2](https://ghoapi.azureedge.net/api/MCV2?$filter=SpatialDim%20eq%20%27SOM%27)). | Year | First dose | Second dose | |---|---|---| | 2000 | 24% | none | | 2005 | 35% | none | | 2010 | 46% | none | | 2015 | 50% | none | | 2020 | 52% | none | | 2021 | 58% | 3% | | 2022 | 69% | 6% | | 2023 | 63% | 18% | | 2024 | 64% | 32% | | 2025 | 61% | 31% | More figures are on [health numbers, 1990 to 2025](/en/data/health-numbers-1990-2025/). ## The 2014 to 2015 outbreak - **Start.** Outbreaks were confirmed in several regions from early February 2014 (OCHA, 20 May 2014). - **Growth.** There were over 1,350 suspected cases in March and April, four times the number in the same months of 2013, and nearly 1,000 in May alone (WHO/UNICEF, 10 June 2014). - **Response.** On 14 July 2014 the UN Central Emergency Response Fund gave US$1.4 million to vaccinate 520,000 children under 5 in Banadir, Lower [Juba](/en/economy/farming-and-harvests/) and [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/) (OCHA, 14 July 2014). - **Totals.** By November 2014 there were about 9,000 cases. In 2015 some 7,500 suspected cases were found, mostly children under 5 in southern and central Somalia. - **Campaign.** From November 2015 a campaign targeted nearly 4 million children under 10. Over 3.5 million were vaccinated, 90% coverage in accessible districts (OCHA, 23 March 2016). All from [ReliefWeb, Somalia: Measles Outbreak – May 2014](https://reliefweb.int/disaster/ep-2014-000093-som). ## The 2016 to 2018 outbreak - **Kismayo, late 2016.** Over 704 cases of fever and rash were recorded in Kismayo, most of them children, and most unvaccinated. UNICEF aimed to vaccinate 54,000 children under 10 there (UNICEF, 16 December 2016). - **2017.** WHO called it Somalia's "worst measles outbreak in 4 years". By the end of 2017, 23,002 suspected cases had been reported, 83% of them in children under 10 (WHO, 15 August 2017; WHO/UNICEF, 7 January 2018). - **National campaign.** A campaign to vaccinate 4.2 million children aged 6 months to 10 years began in Puntland in November and December 2017. In March 2018, 2,734,941 children were vaccinated in central and southern Somalia and [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/), 102% of the target (UNICEF, 31 March 2018). - **2018.** Cases fell. The worst-hit districts that year included [Cabudwaaq](/en/regions/caabudwaaq/) (709 cases), Huriwaa in Mogadishu (542), Laascaanood (354), Baidoa (369) and [Cadaado](/en/states/galmudug/) (295) (WHO and government, 2018). All from [ReliefWeb, Somalia: Measles Outbreak 2016–2026](https://reliefweb.int/disaster/ep-2016-000131-som). The drought of these years is on [the 2016 to 2018 drought](/en/society/drought-2016-2018/). ## 2019 to 2022 - **2019.** 3,616 suspected cases by 9 November (OCHA, 9 December 2019). - **2020.** Kismayo General Hospital admitted 1,033 children with measles from March to December, 845 of them under 5, despite an October campaign (WHO, 31 December 2020). - **2021 to 2022.** Health partners reported rising cases in Galmudug, Middle Shabelle and Banadir as [the 2020 to 2023 drought](/en/society/drought-2020-2023/) spread (OCHA, via ReliefWeb). WHO's count for 2022 was 17,361. ## Related pages - [Health in Somalia](/en/society/health-in-somalia/) - [Cholera in Somalia](/en/society/cholera-in-somalia/) ## Sources - World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory: [measles reported cases (WHS3_62)](https://ghoapi.azureedge.net/api/WHS3_62?$filter=SpatialDim%20eq%20%27SOM%27), [MCV1 coverage (WHS8_110)](https://ghoapi.azureedge.net/api/WHS8_110?$filter=SpatialDim%20eq%20%27SOM%27) and [MCV2 coverage](https://ghoapi.azureedge.net/api/MCV2?$filter=SpatialDim%20eq%20%27SOM%27), Somalia. - ReliefWeb. [Somalia: Measles Outbreak – May 2014](https://reliefweb.int/disaster/ep-2014-000093-som) (OCHA, WHO, UNICEF reports, 2014 to 2016). - ReliefWeb. [Somalia: Measles Outbreak 2016–2026](https://reliefweb.int/disaster/ep-2016-000131-som) (UNICEF, IOM, WHO, OCHA, Health Cluster reports, 2016 to 2022). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.