The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had repeatedly warned the interim government about a looming shortage of measles vaccines, sending multiple letters and issuing oral alerts over the past year, according to the agency's country representative.
UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh Rana Flowers said on Wednesday that the agency wrote five to six letters from August 2024 to February 2026 and raised concerns in at least 10 meetings with government officials, including the health and foreign ministries.
The UN agencies also issued oral warnings at several meetings as vaccine shortages last year disrupted routine immunisation programmes, she said.
"Over the years, since I joined the office in August 2024, across 2025 until February 2026, we sent five to six letters about the shortage of vaccines," Flowers said at a press conference in Dhaka.
"I sat with the interim adviser and the staff on at least 10 occasions warning them that -- look at my face, I am worried -- you're going to face a mountain," she added.
She said Bangladesh received 17.8 million measles vaccine doses between August and November 2025, which is around one-third of annual demand, leading to shortages in routine vaccination.
Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF Ted Chaiban also raised the issue during a visit to Bangladesh in August last year in meetings with the foreign ministry, she said. Flowers said delays in procurement and a decision by the interim cabinet to purchase vaccines through open-market mechanisms contributed to the shortage, adding that any government can procure vaccines through open bidding but timing is critical.
Meanwhile, six more children died of measles-like symptoms in the 24 hours up to Wednesday morning, taking the total deaths to 481 since mid-March this year, according to health authorities.
Of the total fatalities, 80 were confirmed measles cases, according to a Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) bulletin. Dhaka accounted for 207 of the deaths.
More than 1,400 new suspected and confirmed infections were reported in the same period, bringing total suspected cases to 57,856 and confirmed cases to 8,067 since mid-March, the bulletin said. In response to the outbreak, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched an emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign on April 5, targeting children aged six months to five years.
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