Disease Fears in Argentina as Sanitation Crisis Worsens
London, UK – November 20, 2025
Global Health Alarms: Disease Fears in Argentina as Sanitation Crisis Worsens Amid Political Death Sentence
The world is facing a new convergence of humanitarian and political instability, setting off urgent global health alarms from South America to South Asia.
Recent international reports highlight escalating disease fears in Argentina, where child vaccination rates have plummeted to historic lows, dramatically increasing the risk of deadly, preventable outbreaks.
This public health emergency unfolds against the backdrop of a deepening global sanitation crisis, where billions still lack basic, safe facilities, leading to an annual death toll of 1.4 million people.
Simultaneously, a severe political shockwave has hit Bangladesh, where the ousted former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity, adding political turmoil to the complex global outlook.
Argentina’s Immunological Collapse Triggers Disease Fears
The public health situation in Argentina has reached a critical stage, with the country’s pediatric society issuing stark warnings about an imminent resurgence of eradicated diseases.
An analysis of health ministry data reveals that child and adolescent vaccination rates have collapsed to historic lows, well below the 95% threshold required for achieving collective herd immunity.
The data is alarming: in 2024, fewer than half of children aged five and six received essential school-entry doses. For the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, coverage fell to just 46%, a dramatic drop from nearly 90% recorded in the pre-pandemic period of 2015-2019.
Similarly, the polio vaccine booster and the vaccine against whooping cough, diphtheria, and tetanus saw coverage rates plummet to similar low levels. Experts from the Argentinian Paediatric Society (SAP) warn that this unprecedented decline has created a scenario of “collective immunological fragility.”
This collapse is partially attributed to the recent sweeping austerity program introduced by the government of President Javier Milei, which has severely cut the national health budget and strained the essential outreach networks previously responsible for ensuring mandatory vaccination compliance.
The human cost of this lapse is estimated to be over 115,000 infants who did not complete the full immunization schedule against highly dangerous diseases like polio, diphtheria, and Hepatitis B. Already, Argentina is seeing an uptick in measles cases and is currently grappling with a severe whooping cough outbreak that has claimed the lives of several children.
Health officials warn that without immediate, dramatic intervention, diseases once eliminated could rapidly re-emerge and spread with devastating consequences.
Ousted PM Sheikh Hasina Sentenced to Death in Bangladesh
Meanwhile, in South Asia, a major political verdict has sent tremors across Bangladesh and the international community. Ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on charges of crimes against humanity.
The conviction relates to the deadly crackdown on a massive student uprising in 2024, which ultimately led to the collapse of her 15-year rule.
The 78-year-old leader, currently living in exile in New Delhi, was found guilty of multiple charges, including incitement to violence, issuing direct orders to kill protesters, and failing to prevent atrocities. The UN previously estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed during the period of the uprising.
The verdict, which also included a death sentence for her former Home Minister, was delivered in absentia. Hasina immediately denounced the ruling as “biased and politically motivated,” arguing she was given no fair chance to defend herself and that the deaths were a tragic but unplanned loss of control.
The landmark ruling is expected to deeply divide the nation and intensify political tension ahead of scheduled parliamentary elections.
WHO’s World Toilet Day Warning on Sanitation Crisis
Adding a necessary dimension to the global public health debate, the World Health Organisation (WHO) marked World Toilet Day with a sobering warning about the pervasive global sanitation crisis.
The WHO reports that a staggering 3.4 billion people—nearly half of the global population—still lack access to safely managed sanitation services, meaning they do not have an improved toilet whose waste is safely disposed of or treated.
This lack of safe sanitation is far from a mere inconvenience; it is a deadly public health catastrophe. Inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are directly responsible for 1.4 million preventable deaths annually.
Diarrhoeal diseases alone, which are largely preventable with proper facilities, account for two-thirds of these fatalities. The data is most tragic among children: approximately 1,000 children under the age of five die every single day from diseases linked to unsafe WASH conditions.
The WHO stressed that this crisis is being compounded by climate change, where floods and droughts are damaging existing sanitation systems, contaminating water sources, and placing the most vulnerable populations at even higher risk.
The international community faces the moral obligation and practical necessity of rapidly scaling up investment to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of sanitation for all by 2030.
Headline Points
Vaccination Rates Collapse:
Child vaccination rates in Argentina have plummeted to historic lows (e.g., MMR coverage at 46%), creating “collective immunological fragility” and fueling fears of outbreaks of eradicated diseases.
Sheikh Hasina Sentenced:
Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity related to the deadly 2024 student uprising that ended her rule.
Global Sanitation Crisis:
The WHO warned that 3.4 billion people globally still lack access to safe sanitation, leading to 1.4 million preventable deaths each year, with approximately 1,000 children under five dying daily from related diseases.
Political and Health Instability:
The simultaneous crises highlight a dangerous convergence of public health emergencies in Argentina and a severe political shockwave in Bangladesh, set against the backdrop of a persistent global health gap.
