Bangladesh conducts emergency measles vaccinations as outbreak kills
more than 100 children
[April 07, 2026]
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh is conducting emergency
measles-rubella vaccinations while trying to contain an ongoing outbreak
that has killed more than 100 children in less than a month.
The government in partnership with the World Health Organization, the
U.N. children's agency and the Gavi vaccine alliance began working to
vaccinate children age 6 months to 5 years old in 18 high-risk districts
Sunday and will expand nationwide in phases from next month, a joint
statement said.
A UNICEF official said the agency was deeply concerned about the sharp
rise in cases, which was putting the youngest and most vulnerable
children at serious risk. “This resurgence highlights critical immunity
gaps, particularly among zero-dose and under-vaccinated children, while
infections among infants under nine months, who are not yet eligible for
routine vaccination, are especially alarming,” said Rana Flowers, the
agency's representative in Bangladesh.
More than 900 cases of measles have been confirmed among 7,500 suspected
cases reported since March 15, according to the official data in the
South Asian nation of more than 170 million people.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease causing fever,
respiratory symptoms and a characteristic rash and can sometimes have
severe or fatal complications, especially in young children, according
to WHO.
Vaccination is crucial to preventing the spread of measles, but the WHO
says 95% of the population has to be vaccinated in order to stop the
disease from spreading.
Bangladesh’s Health Minister Sardar Mohammed Sakhawat Husain responding
to questions in Parliament said Monday that the new outbreak was caused
by the mismanagement and failures of past governments.
He said the previous government of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
and an interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad
Yunus failed to make proper decisions regarding vaccine stockpiles,
causing shortages affecting vaccines for measles and six other diseases.
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A mother administers a nebulizer treatment for her child suffering
from measles at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Dhaka,
Bangladesh, Monday, April 6, 2026, amid a countrywide outbreak. (AP
Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
 The vaccination campaign for measles
was disrupted during Bangladesh's recent political upheavals. Hasina
was ousted in a mass uprising in 2024, and Yunus led an interim
administration that transferred power to an elected government after
an election in February.
Authorities are advising parents to go to hospitals
whenever someone is suspected to have measles.
““They should avoid taking medicine from shopkeepers unnecessarily.
If a child has a fever, especially high fever — 101, 102, 3, 4
(Fahrenheit, or higher than 38.3 Celsius) — they should not rely on
medicine from local shops,” said F. A. Asma Khan, deputy director of
the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Dhaka.
“Instead, they must take the child to a hospital as soon as
possible, because our medical officers are capable of providing
proper basic treatment,” she said.
Since the launch of a massive immunization campaign in 1979,
Bangladesh has made remarkable progress — raising the coverage of
fully immunized children from just 2% to 81.6%.
But UNICEF warned last year that while Bangladesh has made strong
strides to increase immunization coverage, stark disparities
persist.
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