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LONDON: Vaccine hesitancy in rich countries means ending measles as a \u200cglobal public health threat is not currently possible, Bill Gates told Reuters in an interview.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Microsoft co-founder turned billionaire philanthropist said wiping out the killer childhood disease had previously been a potential goal for his eponymous foundation, which focuses on global health and the \u200bworld\u2019s poorest people.<\/p>\n But it was now off the table due to increased vaccine hesitancy in wealthier nations, part \u200bof a wave of skepticism championed for decades by the now health secretary in \u2060the United States under President Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/p>\n \u201cAt one point, the foundation wanted to eradicate measles, but \u200bthe vaccine hesitancy in rich countries has meant that\u2019s not on our list of goals,\u201d Gates said. \u201cI think that\u2019s \u200bkind of tragic.\u201d<\/p>\n MEASLES RISE<\/strong><\/p>\n Measles, among the world\u2019s most contagious diseases, causes a high fever, a cough and a tell-tale rash.<\/p>\n The virus killed around 2 million children every year before the introduction of a vaccine in the 1960s. Nowadays, around 100,000 children die annually, largely in \u200bcountries where conflict or logistics make immunisation difficult. The WHO says vaccination rates need to be above 95% \u200bto prevent outbreaks.<\/p>\n But recent years have also seen a surge in cases in countries where the disease was almost forgotten, including in the \u200cUnited \u2060States and Europe, as vaccination rates have fallen.<\/p>\n Gates said that vaccine hesitancy had at least not spread to lower-income countries, where measles can be much deadlier than in richer countries due to malnutrition and healthcare gaps.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always that concern that if you have doubters in the U.S., that becomes a global thing,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we haven\u2019t seen an \u200bincrease in vaccine hesitancy in \u200bthe countries the foundation \u2060works in.\u201d<\/p>\n AID CUTS<\/strong><\/p>\n Gates was speaking ahead of the foundation\u2019s annual Goalkeepers event, which looks at progress towards the United Nations global development goals set for 2030, including on improving \u200bhealth.<\/p>\n In last year\u2019s report, Gates warned of the impact of aid cuts led by Trump\u2019s \u200badministration, and followed \u2060by other wealthy countries like the UK and Germany, on the health of the world\u2019s poorest.<\/p>\n This year, he said the cuts had likely caused many deaths, but the restoration of some money had prevented the worst-case scenario. Efforts from impacted countries \u2060and other \u200bhealth groups also held off disaster, as Reuters has reported.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most dire \u200bpredictions, which went above 10 million deaths, we don\u2019t see that taking place,\u201d Gates said, adding that he continued to urge governments to restore \u200baid or at least not cut it further. \u201cIt\u2019s still a very tragic situation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n