Vaccination coverage stagnates for 12 years, 16% of children deprived: study

The current coverage of the vaccination programme is 83.9 percent, which was less than 84 percent in 2012

A study has revealed that about 16 percent of children are still deprived of vaccination as the “coverage” of the programme has not increased in over a decade.

The study, jointly conducted by the Shastho Shurokkha Foundation and UNICEF Bangladesh, also highlighted several barriers to the Extended Programme on Immunization, or EPI.

The findings of the research were disclosed at a media briefing titled “Successes, existing challenges, and future actions of the vaccination programme in Bangladesh” at the capital’s National Press Club on Monday.

The EPI coverage was below 2 percent in the country in 1984, said the foundation’s Executive Director Nizam Uddin Ahmed in the keynote presentation.

“It is currently at 83.9 percent. The coverage of the vaccination programme was less than 84 percent in 2012. That means the coverage of the programme has not been extended for more than a decade.”

Nizam said the significant obstacles to the EPI include shortage of labour force, uneven distribution of region-based vaccination centres, inadequate allocation of funds, and insufficient supply of vaccines.

There is also a lack of training for vaccination workers, vaccine transportation issues in remote and vulnerable areas, and a lack of vaccination-related publicity.

Quoting the report, Nizam said about 40 percent of the workforce allocated for the vaccination project in cities and villages and 43 percent of the posts in the EPI headquarters in Dhaka remain vacant.

“According to the National Urban Immunization Strategy 2019 and EPI micro plan 2024, six vaccinators are required for every 50,000 people. This has not yet been implemented in Bangladesh.”

The foundation suggested the prompt appointment in vacant posts in cities and villages, the implementation of population-based manpower policy, the distribution of vaccines according to need, ensuring the supply of necessary vaccines to each centre and strengthening the supply management.