Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 13: Bangladesh is grappling with one of its worst public health crises in recent years, with a massive measles outbreak exposing serious weaknesses in the country’s immunisation and healthcare systems, according to a report.

A report published by The Daily Star, citing data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said more than 1.89 lakh people, mostly children, have been affected by measles or measles-like symptoms since March 15, 2026.

At least 1.49 lakh patients have required hospitalisation, while the reported death toll from confirmed and suspected cases has reached 1,012, the report said.

Health experts, however, cautioned that there is a distinction between confirmed and suspected infections and fatalities. Nevertheless, the report noted that children are dying in large numbers from a disease that is highly preventable through vaccination.

The outbreak has renewed concerns over Bangladesh’s immunisation programme, which was once regarded as a major success story among developing nations.

High vaccination coverage achieved through government leadership, NGO participation and community mobilisation had previously helped protect millions of children from preventable diseases.

Covid disruption among key factors

According to The Daily Star report, several factors contributed to the current crisis.

“Covid-19 disrupted routine immunisation. Some children were never brought back into the system,” the report said.

Hard-to-reach populations, residents of urban slums, migrants and other marginalised communities remained particularly vulnerable. Routine follow-up and identification of children who had received no vaccine were also inadequate, allowing gaps in immunisation coverage to accumulate.

Authorities responded by launching a large-scale emergency vaccination campaign and reported inoculating nearly 1.97 crore children.

However, questions subsequently emerged over the accuracy of population estimates after a later Vitamin A campaign reached around 2.23 crore children in the same age group.

The report said authorities acknowledged that the original target population for the measles vaccination campaign had been underestimated.

Although infections temporarily declined during June and July, measles cases surged again in August.

Describing the outbreak as a preventable public health failure and, more broadly, a governance failure, the report called for a comprehensive investigation and renewed efforts to strengthen immunisation systems and prevent a recurrence of such a crisis.