Bangladesh begins a nationwide measles-rubella vaccination effort targeting 3.4 million children to combat its worst outbreak on record, amid weakened routine immunisation caused by political instability and health system challenges.
Bangladesh has begun a nationwide measles-rubella vaccination drive aimed at 3.4 million children who were never immunised or missed earlier doses, as the country confronts what health officials and international agencies describe as its worst measles outbreak on record. The month-long campaign, launched on Saturday, lowers the minimum vaccination age to six months from the usual nine months in response to the scale of transmission and the vulnerability of infants too young for routine protection.
Health ministry data show the outbreak has already caused 1,087 confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths, including 101 laboratory-confirmed fatalities, since mid-March. Officials have also recorded nearly 187,000 suspected cases and 21,099 confirmed infections, with more than 165,000 people admitted to hospital. The crisis has added pressure to a health system already strained by a seasonal rise in dengue infections.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bangladesh is now facing the world’s largest measles outbreak. The World Health Organisation has said the response has involved emergency and follow-up vaccination efforts since April, including a campaign in May that protected more than 166,000 children in Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. Earlier in April, the government, with support from UNICEF, WHO and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, launched an emergency campaign in high-risk districts before widening the effort nationwide.
Public health experts have traced the outbreak to serious interruptions in routine immunisation during 2024 and 2025. Political instability, changes to vaccine procurement and the postponement or cancellation of scheduled campaigns left many children without protection. Those gaps were especially dangerous for infants under nine months, who are normally too young to receive the routine measles shot, but who can still spread the virus within households and communities.
Authorities say the new campaign is intended to close those immunity gaps, reduce severe illness and deaths, and interrupt chains of transmission. Whether it succeeds may depend on how completely health workers can reach children who have been missed repeatedly in earlier drives, as officials seek to prevent another wave of infections in a country where routine childhood vaccination has been badly weakened.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
