8 more die of measles, 1,615 others infected: DGHS
Staff Correspondent
14 May, 2026, 00:52
Representational image. | New Age file photo
The government has yet to resolve shortages of vitamin A capsules and contraceptives because of complications in the procurement system, officials said on Wednesday, as eight more children died and 1,615 others were infected in the ongoing measles outbreak in the 24 hours until 8:00am.
Health authorities and experts linked the high number of measles-related deaths partly to vitamin A deficiency and malnutrition among infected children.
Speaking at a press conference at the Directorate General of Health Services headquarters, the prime minister’s special assistant on health, Dr SM Ziauddin Hyder, said that shortages of both vitamin A capsules and contraceptives still persisted.
‘Although we are providing vitamin A capsules to measles-infected children, we could not conduct a nationwide campaign because of stock shortages,’ he said.
He explained that vitamin A capsules had previously been procured under an operational plan that no longer existed, creating complications in the procurement process.
‘Launching a nationwide campaign immediately is not possible,’ he added.
Health minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain, speaking at an event at the secretariat on Wednesday, said that the government hoped to supply vitamin A capsules for children by June.
He said that the capsules would be distributed among children in two phases.
The prime minister’s special assistant, however, claimed that the government had managed to secure sufficient vaccine supplies through special allocation measures and that there was currently no vaccine shortage.
DGHS director general Professor Dr Pravath Chandra Biswas said that measles vaccination coverage had already reached the government target of 95 per cent of the 1.8 crore children identified for immunisation.
However, DGHS data released on Wednesday showed that vaccination coverage had exceeded 104 per cent, although the campaign is scheduled to continue until May 20.
Answering a question, Ziauddin Hyder said that the measles situation was now stable and neither increasing nor declining significantly.
He said that measles outbreaks had recently occurred in 56 countries around the world.
He expressed hope that infections would begin to decline within the next two to three weeks, as immunity from vaccination generally develops within three to four weeks.
Government officials said that most measles-related deaths were associated with complications including pneumonia and malnutrition.
With the latest figures, the total number of deaths from confirmed measles or measles-like symptoms rose to 432, while infections reached 60,206.
Of them, 69 deaths and 7,150 infections were laboratory-confirmed measles cases.
Ziauddin Hyder said that the present government had prioritised the health sector and planned to restructure the healthcare system.
He blamed the Awami League regime for alleged manipulation of vaccination data over the years and also criticised the interim administration for failing to launch immediate vaccination efforts after the outbreak began.
He added that the government had decided to allocate 1 per cent of the gross domestic product to health development and was in the process of recruiting 100,000 health workers.