Dhaka: As part of an ongoing nationwide campaign, the government has administered measles-rubella vaccines to 12,162,906 children across the country to address the measles outbreak. The campaign aims to immunize approximately 1.80 crore children nationwide.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, data from the integrated control centre for measles-rubella vaccination under the Directorate General of Health Services shows that 711,073 children in Barishal Division, 2,496,908 in Chattogram Division, 3,208,694 in Dhaka Division, 1,099,612 in Khulna Division, 923,156 in Mymensingh Division, 1,489,039 in Rajshahi Division, 1,355,234 in Rangpur Division, and 879,190 in Sylhet Division have been vaccinated.
In city corporation areas, 35,876 children received the vaccine in Barishal City Corporation, 176,995 in Chattogram City Corporation, 45,646 in Cumilla City Corporation, 437,705 in Dhaka North City Corporation, 375,683 in Dhaka South City Corporation, 103,406 in Gazipur City Corporation, 65,784 in Narayanganj City Corporation, 68,429 in Khulna City Corporation, 44,997 in Mymensingh City Corporation, 43,213 in Rajshahi City Corporation, 53,971 in Rangpur City Corporation, and 44,097 in Sylhet City Corporation.
The government launched the measles-rubella vaccination campaign in phases. The first phase began on April 5 in 30 upazilas across 18 districts, which has already been completed. The second phase started on April 12 in four key city corporations – Dhaka South, Dhaka North, Barishal, and Mymensingh, while the third phase commenced nationwide on April 20.
The vaccination campaign operates from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm daily, except on weekly and public holidays, targeting children aged between 6 and 59 months. Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain stated that once the vaccines were available, the government expedited the administration, starting from April 20.
Discussing the progress, Sakhawat mentioned that they have covered 61 percent of the target, and aim to achieve 100 percent coverage within the next week. He noted that measles cases have already decreased in many areas due to timely intervention and expressed confidence that the situation will soon be under control.
Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services, Prof. Provat Chandra Biswas, highlighted that vaccination activities have been intensified to manage the measles outbreak. He indicated that over 61 percent of the targeted children have received the vaccine as of April 29, assuring that no child will be left behind.
Assistant Director of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), Hasanul Mahmud, stated that a total of 18 million children will be vaccinated under this initiative. The campaign will continue until May 20 in city corporation areas and until May 12 in other regions.
Public health experts assert that vaccination is effective in preventing measles and expect the outbreak to decline within two to three weeks of the campaign’s initiation. They have expressed satisfaction with the government’s measures to combat the epidemic.