81pc of children vaccinated against measles: Health Minister

Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain has said that 81 percent of targeted children in the country have already been brought under measles vaccination coverage. He made the remarks while briefing reporters after the second session of the Deputy Commissioners' Conference at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital on Sunday, May 3.

The minister said there is no shortage of vaccine supplies and the distribution across the country is running smoothly. He expressed confidence that full coverage would be achieved soon.

A nationwide emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign was launched on April 20 to vaccinate approximately 1.8 crore children aged 6 months to under 5 years across the country. Additionally, on April 5, the government, with support from UNICEF, WHO and Gavi, launched an emergency campaign to protect more than 1.2 million children in 30 upazilas across 18 high-risk districts.

Meanwhile, according to the Directorate General of Health Services, 10 children died from measles and measles-like symptoms in the 24 hours until 8:00 am on Sunday. Since March 15, a total of 50 children have died from confirmed measles and 244 from suspected measles symptoms. The death toll has now risen to 54 confirmed and 256 suspected cases.

The health minister also said that during the DC Conference, discussions were held on strengthening mobile monitoring teams to curb the sale of counterfeit medicines and unregulated medical practices. Issues such as ambulance shortages, medicine supply gaps in hospitals, doctor absenteeism, and dengue prevention were also discussed.