Another 3.5mn children targeted for vaccination over the next month

The state minister said the government was committed to continuing various vaccination programmes with support from the US government, Gavi, UNICEF, as well as health workers at different levels, particularly those working on the ground and under Dhaka North City Corporation.

Describing the progress of the measles prevention campaign, Muhith said significant headway had been made through coordinated efforts by the Health Ministry, local government bodies, city corporations and frontline health workers.

“Even after vaccinating 20 million children, the government has not stopped. Every child’s life is valuable,” he said, stressing that the goal was to ensure that not a single child remains outside the vaccination programme.

The current phase has been designed as a 'mop-up campaign' to identify and vaccinate children who were missed during earlier rounds.

The campaign will focus particularly on children living in remote areas, children with disabilities and those who missed previous vaccination rounds for various reasons, the Abdul Muhith said.

Health workers will make efforts to reach these children at their homes, he added, saying the ultimate goal was to ensure every child’s safety and protection against measles.

The government believes it will be able to bring another 3.5 million children under the vaccination programme within the next month, the state minister said, describing the initiative as part of the government’s commitment to the people.