Home
+
Published : 04 May 2026, 12:33 AM
Amid mounting criticism over child deaths from measles and a severe shortage of essential immunisations, the government has announced that a large shipment of 10 types of vaccines is expected to arrive soon.
Health Services Division Secretary Md Quamruzzaman Chowdhury confirmed that the first cargo flight is scheduled to land on May 5, with subsequent shipments arriving in phases.
Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain and other senior officials are expected to receive the first consignment.
Data from the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) reveals a critical supply gap.
The monthly demand for the Pentavalent vaccine is 10 million doses, but the central stock is currently zero.
For the PCV (pneumonia) vaccine, the demand stands at 260,000 doses a month, with no stock available.
The OPV (polio) vaccine has a monthly demand of 125,000 doses, while only 8,200 doses remain in stock.
In the case of the TD (tetanus/diphtheria) vaccine, the monthly demand is 105,000 doses, with 95,670 doses available.
The BCG (tuberculosis) vaccine has a monthly demand of 130,000 doses, and a central stock of 726,000 doses.
Bangladesh’s national programme covers nine vaccines for 12 diseases.
Seven of these are administered to infants year-round.
The current shortage has hit the routine measles-rubella (MR) schedule particularly hard, as remaining stocks were diverted to emergency "campaigns" following a spike in measles cases.
The upcoming shipment will include vaccines such as BCG, OPV, the pentavalent, PCV, MR, and TCV for typhoid.
It will also include vaccines for women and adolescents, including the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer prevention and the TD vaccine for women of reproductive age.
The health secretary noted that orders have been placed for 10 varieties of vaccines to ensure the national programme returns to full capacity.
This follows an announcement by the health minister on Mar 29 over a new allocation of Tk 6.04 billion for vaccine procurement.
