Philippine-based World Health Organization on Tuesday warned the Philippine government that at least 6,000 children each year were exposed to deaths due to measles unless health agencies beef up its immunization program and prevent an epidemic.

In a statement released from its headquarters in Manila, WHO said measles will continue to spread throughout the Philippines and told the government to have more children vaccinated. A measles outbreak has plagued the Philippines for almost a year despite government efforts to curb the disease.

It adds that the Philippines would only be declared measles-free "if every village vaccinates at least 95 percent of its children."

Soe Nyunt-U, WHO representative to the Philippines said, "Failure to do so will result in the return of an estimated 6,000 deaths a year of Filipino children from this preventable disease."

The Philippine Department of Health has targeted to vaccinate over 8.9 million children aged nine months to three years across the country.