Health minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain’s claim that there had been no measles immunisation in Bangladesh over the past eight years contradicts the government data and international health agency records.

At the event at Rupganj in Narayanganj on Sunday, the health minister said, ‘The number of measles patients has increased significantly. The last measles vaccination was administered eight years ago. Since then, no  government has carried out such a campaign. We have allocated Tk 6.04 billion. The purchase committee has approved it. Vaccines will be procured quickly, and the campaign will begin soon.’

The minister also made the similar remarks at an event at Shahbagh in the capital Dhaka on Saturday.

Data from Bangladesh’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation and the World Health Organisation show that measles vaccination had continued nationwide with high coverage during the period.

However, vaccination crisis started in late 2024 for fund crisis.

EPI deputy director Md Shahriar Sajjad said that the country’s measles vaccination coverage was about 92 per cent for the first dose and 90 per cent for the second dose in recent administrative records.

He added that the coverage was about 95 per cent for the first dose and 93 per cent for the second dose in 2024.

Under the national immunisation schedule, Bangladesh administers two doses of measles-containing vaccine — one at nine months and another at 15 months — free of cost through routine vaccination services.

However, the EPI dashboard shows that coverage declined in 2025, with both first and second dose coverage dropping to about 57 per cent, compared with 85.8 per cent in 2024 and 89.4 per cent in 2023, indicating disruption in vaccination activities but not a complete halt.

Data from the World Health Organisation immunisation dashboard also contradict the minister’s claim, showing that Bangladesh maintained high measles vaccination coverage over the years.

According to WHO country estimates, measles’ first-dose coverage was 95 per cent and the second-dose coverage 93 per cent in 2024, while the same coverage level was maintained in 2023 and 2022.

Immunisation officials said that routine vaccination had never been fully suspended, although disruptions occurred due to operational and administrative challenges.

According to WHO and UNICEF estimates, Bangladesh vaccinates more than 30 lakh children with each measles vaccine dose every year, meaning over 60 lakh doses are administered annually through routine immunisation.

Public health expert Abu Jamil Faisal said that the claim of no measles vaccination for eight years was unrealistic. It has been hampered for the past eight months, they said.

‘It is absurd to say that there was no vaccination for eight years. Vaccination continued, though operational disruptions have affected coverage in recent times,’ he said.

He added that suspension of operational plans and programme management gaps had hampered routine immunisation activities in recent months.

Former Bangladesh Medical University vice-chancellor Professor Nazrul Islam also said that although vaccination activities faced challenges, they were never stopped.

‘There was a crisis in vaccination management, but Bangladesh has achieved several milestones in immunisation and routine vaccination has continued,’ he said.