Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman on Tuesday announced that the government has taken steps to procure nearly 95 million doses of 10 different vaccines through UNICEF to strengthen Bangladesh’s nationwide immunisation programme.
Speaking at a weekly press briefing at the Press Information Department (PID) in Dhaka, the adviser said the government has already paid US$83.6 million to UNICEF for the procurement of several life-saving vaccines, including MR, TD, BCG, TCV, Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), and Penta vaccines.
Senior officials, including Additional Secretary Mohammad Yasin and Principal Information Officer Syed Abdal Ahmed, were also present at the briefing.
Dr Zahed said the first shipments of vaccines started arriving in May. On 3 May, Bangladesh received 1.5 million doses of IPV vaccine. Three days later, another 1.5 million MR doses and 9 lakh TD vaccine doses reached the country.
According to him, around 13.2 million vaccine doses had arrived by 10 May, while the full supply of 95 million doses is expected to be completed by September this year.
He assured that Bangladesh currently has sufficient stocks of TCV and HPV vaccines and said the new shipments would ensure no vaccine shortages for the next eight to twelve months.
The adviser added that the government has maintained an effective cold chain system to preserve vaccine quality, with UNICEF providing technical assistance.
Highlighting the importance of immunisation, Dr Zahed said the government has already achieved its target of administering MR vaccines to nearly 18 million children aged between six months and five years.
He urged parents to take any unvaccinated children to nearby centres as quickly as possible.
Expressing concern over recent child deaths caused by measles, he said the government is closely monitoring the situation and remains committed to preventing further fatalities.
The adviser also spoke about energy security and Eid travel preparations, saying the modernisation and expansion project of Eastern Refinery Limited will continue until 2030. He noted that the refinery resumed operations on 8 May after a three-week shutdown and that there had been no load-shedding in the country until 11 May.
He further announced that a central control room will operate at Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) from 20 to 31 May to ensure safer Eid travel, while POS machines will be installed at toll plazas on 12 bridges for automated toll collection.
Additionally, Maritime Safety Week is being observed from 10 to 16 May to improve waterway safety, with special launch services arranged from Basila and Shimulia for Eid passengers.
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