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Published : 02 May 2026, 01:02 AM
Muhammad Yunus’s interim government halted measles-rubella (MR) vaccine procurement through the UNICEF for an open tender, despite the UN children agency warning of potential disruption in the immunisation system and a subsequent outbreak, reveals a report.
The US-based Science.org on Thursday said the health officials were repeatedly cautioned after the tender was initiated in September last year, but in vain.
“It was very frustrating,” Rana Flowers, the agency’s representative in Bangladesh, was quoted as saying.
“For God’s sake … don’t do this,” Flowers reportedly told former health and family welfare advisor Nurjahan Begum.
Flowers says the decision to change the procurement system needs to be investigated.
Science, the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, alleged that Nurjahan did not respond to its questions.
On Apr 12, a Supreme Court lawyer filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Commission citing irregularities and vaccine-procurement failures under the interim government.
Current Measles Situation
Bangladesh on Friday reported that four more children with measles-like symptoms died and 115 others tested positive over the past 24 hours.
Official data says 49 confirmed patients and another 231 people with measles-like symptoms have died across the country since Mar 15.
Since mid-March, approximately 38,301 suspected measles cases have been registered across the country. Of them, 5,146 were diagnosed with the highly-infectious disease.
In early April, the country rolled out an emergency vaccination drive, which was later spread across the country.
Self-Defence by Previous Regimes
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Apr 18 categorically described the failure of the previous two governments to ensure measles vaccination for children as an “unforgivable crime”.
He reiterated the allegation in the parliament four days later.
Sheikh Hasina, the ousted prime minister, informed the journal that her government prioritised vaccination and pointed out that no major measles outbreaks occurred during her 15 years in power.
Md Sayedur Rahman, who served as a special assistant to the health ministry during the interim government, defended the move, calling the then procurement system “old”.
The previous procurement system, he said, was based on a legal clause designed for emergencies.
“The interim government wanted it shifted to a regular, rule-based system going forward” to “avoid questions about transparency or lead to perceptions of bias,” he wrote to Science.
The journal, however, reported that Sayedur did not answer follow-up questions about what exactly went wrong.
But he acknowledged the human toll of the crisis, it added.
In a Facebook post on Friday, he wrote: “First of all, it is important to say that my speech in Science was published in a fragmented form, although I had mentioned in writing the possibility of misunderstanding due to the ambiguity of publishing the fragmented part.”
The BNP government reinstated the procurement through UNICEF in April and coordinated with WHO and GAVI to secure supplies, says Ziauddin Hyder, the prime minister’s special assistant on health affairs.
Looking Back
For years, the UNICEF supplied the vaccines with partial contributions from the Bangladesh government.
Bureaucratic tangles affected the tender process, causing nationwide vaccine supplies that ultimately resulted in widespread shortages that disrupted routine immunisation efforts, according to Science.
A supplemental MR vaccination drive was first planned for 2024 but authorities deferred that to 2025 because of political unrest. However, the campaign was eventually cancelled, it adds.
By the end of March this year, government reports showed that only 59% of eligible children had received their measles vaccination in 2025, the report says, adding that the estimate was removed from the government website.
Experts Fear Bleak Days Ahead
Referring to the speed at which measles is currently spreading, public health expert Be-Nazir Ahmed fears the inoculation campaign may not come immediately handy.
Be-Nazir is a former director of disease control at the Directorate General of Health Services, which is responsible for the campaign.
“Beyond immunization gaps, Bangladesh’s measles crisis reflects deep structural weaknesses,” says Mohammad Mushtuq Husain, advisor at the the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.
He suggested that the government declare a public health emergency to highlight the severity of the crisis and spur further action. “This is already an emergency.”
The UNICEF, nevertheless, sees the possibility of the measles outbreak weakening in Bangladesh by thus month.
A staggering 74 percent of children infected with measles did not receive any vaccine, a UNICEF official said Wednesday citing a government estimate.
