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Measles is one of the world's most deadly preventable diseases.  It "is a highly contagious viral infection that kills more children than any other vaccine preventable disease" (UNICEF).  Worldwide, 30-40 million people become infected and as many as 777,000 of those infected die each year.   Cases are most commonly found in Eastern and South Eastern regions of the world.  It is most highly concentrated in Africa, a region where 490,000 cases were reported in 2001 (WHO 14-15). 

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) collect and distribute most of the information concerning Measles and other contagious diseases. Most information is obtained from countries that self report their coverage (the number of people immunized) and number of outbreaks during a given period.  Because of this not all reports accurately reflect the actual number of outbreaks in a given period.

These maps of measles coverage reflect a trend of an increase in immunizations world wide, corresponding with a decrease in measles transmission. Measles has been virtually eliminated from the Americas in the past twenty years.  For example Brazil went from 99,263 reported cases in 1980 to 38 reported cases in 2000.  In the Americas as a whole, measles transmission has virtually been eliminated.  "As of December 2001, 469 cases of measles have been confirmed in the region compared with 1,764 cases for the same period in 1999; 72% of [these] cases occurred in 3 countries (Dominican Republic, Haiti and Venezuela)"  (WHO: Global Measles Mortality Reduction and Regional Elimination 2000-2001). 

Lack of infrastructure, inadequate health care systems, and the basic lack of funds are all factors contributing to the continued transmission of measles.  Countries that have adequate health care for its citizens (and the funding for health care programs) have virtually eliminated transmission of this disease.  As of the year 2000, African countries especially with a GDP between 730-5000 USD and below, have the highest prevalence of the disease and lowest coverage worldwide.