Measles has continued to scourge the country, taking a turn for the worse as the death toll from this preventable disease surged past 500 on Friday.
According to government data, fatalities and infections linked to measles and measles-like symptoms have risen sharply, with no signs of letting-up. During a span of 24 hours until Friday morning, at least 13 children died of suspected measles, taking the total death toll to 512.
Additionally, nearly 2,000 children were affected by the disease during the period, with the total number of infections surpassing 62,000. Of them, close to 50,000 children were admitted to different hospitals and private clinics across the country.
Understandably, the measles crisis has worsened despite the government's all-out efforts, including a vaccination programme which is said to have nearly been completed, though initially there was a shortage of vaccine doses that were not procured in time by the interim government. In spite of vaccination, deaths and infections have continued. This is because it takes around four weeks for vaccinated children to develop immunity.
There is no doubt that the interim government failed to procure measles vaccines in time. This became evident when Unicef Bangladesh, at a recent press conference, claimed that it had repeatedly warned the interim government about an impending measles vaccine shortage since 2024 by sending at least five letters and holding at least 10 meetings with officials. But timely action was not taken to procure the vaccines.
This means the interim government is culpable for the current worsening measles situation that has already claimed the lives of more than half a thousand children. This was explained by Unicef Bangladesh Representative Rana Flowers, who said delays in vaccine procurement caused the measles crisis to worsen.
Surely, vaccination gaps are behind the measles surge across Bangladesh this year. Vaccine shortages during the period between 2024 and 2025 primarily resulted in a huge number of unvaccinated children in the country, providing fertile ground for the highly contagious measles virus to spread. Experts opined that measles vaccination was supposed to be administered every four years, but the programme lost continuity after 2020.
It is now clear that the interim government is to blame for this measles crisis because it handled the vaccination programme ineptly and failed to follow the previously adopted vaccine procurement system.
Therefore, it is now a popular demand that the government identify those responsible for the worsening measles situation. We have heard that an investigation committee comprising both local and international experts will be formed to find out the causes behind the shortage of measles vaccines.
People across the country believe that the probe body will soon bring to light those responsible for negligence in procuring measles vaccines and ensure exemplary punishment.
