Daijiworld Media Network - Dhaka
Dhaka, Aug 31: At least six children died of suspected measles in Bangladesh on Monday, taking the total number of confirmed and suspected deaths from the outbreak to 973 this year, amid an escalating health crisis in the country, local media reported.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the six deaths were reported in the 24 hours leading up to Monday morning and were classified as suspected measles fatalities, Bangladeshi media outlet UNB reported.
While the number of confirmed deaths remained at 99, suspected deaths increased to 874, taking the combined toll to 973.
The DGHS recorded 1,162 new suspected measles cases during the 24-hour period, raising the overall number of suspected cases to 157,991.
Another 94 confirmed cases were reported, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 19,312.
Amid the sharp rise in measles infections, a leading international advocacy group recently described Bangladesh’s 2026 outbreak as one of the country’s worst public health crises in recent history, highlighting the fact that measles is preventable through vaccination.
In its report titled ‘Preventable Tragedy: Bangladesh’s 2026 Measles Outbreak’, Canada-based Global Centre for Democratic Governance (GCDG) said the outbreak may have appeared sudden to the public but was not unexpected from an “epidemiological perspective”.
The report attributed the crisis to a combination of disruptions to vaccine supplies and health programmes during 2024-25 under the former interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, along with missed routine vaccinations, cancellation of scheduled supplementary immunisation programmes, administrative delays in vaccine procurement and failure to promptly identify at-risk populations.
According to the GCDG, Bangladesh had traditionally procured World Health Organisation (WHO)-approved vaccines through the international supply chain of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). However, the interim government replaced the system with an open tender procurement process.
Citing UNICEF, the report said the agency repeatedly warned the interim government about a potential vaccine shortage through five to six formal letters and around 10 meetings held between 2024 and 2026.
Referring to Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) data reported by Bangladeshi daily Samakal, the GCDG said measles vaccination coverage fell to 56.2 per cent in 2025, the lowest level recorded between 2017 and 2025.
It added that the WHO subsequently identified a nationwide stock-out of measles-rubella (MR) vaccine during 2024-25 and inadequate regular vaccination as the main factors behind declining immunity among children and the subsequent 2026 outbreak.