Health workers administer a measles shot to a child during a vaccination campaign following an outbreak, at a kindergarten in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Photos show the efforts to curb a measles outbreak in Indonesia
SUMENEP, Indonesia (AP) — Health workers in Sumenep, Indonesia, are delivering measles vaccines to curb an outbreak on Madura Island, which has persisted for nine months. Over 2,600 children have been infected this year, and 20 have died.
Efforts face challenges due to concerns about the vaccine’s halal status, because some vaccines contain a pig-derived stabilizer. Some Islamic scholars say it’s permissible under certain conditions, but hesitancy remains.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, has reported previous outbreaks of measles, mostly driven by gaps in vaccination coverage.
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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Parents wait for their children during a measles vaccination campaign following an outbreak, at a kindergarten in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)Children walk from their classrooms to receive measles shots, following an outbreak, in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)A young girl is comforted by her mother as she receives a measles vaccine during a vaccination campaign following an outbreak, at a kindergarten in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)A health worker shows a vial of measles-rubella vaccine, during a vaccination campaign in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)From left, health workers Indra Kurniawan, Fera Purnamasari and Siti Nurjanah ride their motorbikes during a house-to-house measles vaccination campaign following an outbreak in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)Health workers administer a measles vaccine to a child during a house-to-house campaign following an outbreak in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)Dr. Novia Sri Wahyuni, center, head of the local community health center, speaks during a campaign to educate parents on measles vaccination, in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)Health worker Siti Nurjanah administers a measles vaccination during a house-to-house campaign following an outbreak in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)Paramedic Indra Kurniawan, right, carries a medical cooler containing measles vaccine as he walks with his colleague Fera Purnamasari during a house-to-house vaccination campaign following an outbreak in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)Nurses wear their protective gowns at an isolation ward for measles patients at Moh Anwar Hospital in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)A mother carries her son at an isolation ward for measles patients, at Moh Anwar Hospital in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)A young boy stands outside Sumenep grand Mosque, in Sumenep on Madura Island, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
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