Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain on Monday said the government’s special measles vaccination campaign has achieved significant progress in controlling the recent outbreak, with more than two crore children already vaccinated across Bangladesh.
He made the remarks while speaking to journalists after visiting Cumilla General Hospital.
The health minister said the campaign has so far recorded a 122 per cent success rate, indicating strong coverage beyond initial targets. He added that infection rates have dropped notably in the first 18 upazilas where the vaccination programme was introduced.
According to him, the government’s primary goal remains achieving 100 per cent vaccination coverage for children within the shortest possible time to contain the spread of measles and prevent further fatalities.
Responding to questions about calls for an independent investigation by the World Health Organisation into child deaths linked to measles, the minister said accountability alone would not resolve the crisis. He stressed that priority must be given to treatment and prevention to ensure no mother suffers the loss of a child in the future.
Earlier in the day, the health minister visited Cumilla Sadar General Hospital and Cumilla Medical College Hospital ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha holidays to assess emergency healthcare services, patient management, and medicine supply conditions.
During his visit, he inspected hospital wards, interacted with patients, and reviewed the quality of food provided to them.
Deputy Commissioner of Cumilla Md Rezaul Hasan, Acting Director of Cumilla Medical College Hospital Dr Shah Jahan, Assistant Director Dr Nishat Sultana, Head of the Pediatrics Department Moyna Monjur Ahmed and Additional Superintendent of Police Saiful Malik, among others, were present at that time.
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