Sylhet Bureau :
A month-long vaccination campaign is starting from October 12 to prevent the terrible outbreak of typhoid fever in Bangladesh. Under this initiative, which is being conducted under the EPI program, more than 3 million children in Sylhet division will be given free typhoid vaccine. The target of vaccinating 8 lakh 49 thousand children in Sylhet district and 1 lakh 62 thousand children in Sylhet City Corporation area has been set.
This information was given at a departmental-level exchange meeting organized at the Nagar Bhaban meeting room on Thursday on the occasion of the typhoid vaccination campaign. In the exchange meeting organized by the Health Divisional Office in collaboration with the World Health Organization and UNICEF, Director of the Health Division Dr. Md. Anisur Rahman conducted the meeting.
 Divisional Commissioner of Sylhet and Administrator of Sylhet City Corporation, Khan Md. Reza-un-Nabi
attend the programme as a chief guest.
The chief guest said, a joint effort is needed to implement any good work. We have proven at various times that we can make the work we want to do successful together. Many challenges come, but we succeed. If everyone is active, we will also be successful in the typhoid vaccination campaign. Since students and guardians respect teachers, the role of teachers is very important in implementing this work.
Director of the Health Department, Dr. Md. Anisur Rahman said that the government has taken the initiative to provide free typhoid vaccination to protect children from the preventable infectious disease typhoid fever. This program will be implemented across the country, including Sylhet, from October 12.
It was informed at the meeting that this vaccine, approved by the World Health Organization, is safe and effective. This government campaign will not only save the lives of children, but will also make a significant contribution to reducing typhoid-related illnesses and mortality in the long term. During this time, all children aged 9 months to 15 years and all students from pre-primary to ninth grade or equivalent will be given 1 dose of typhoid vaccine free of charge. No child will be left out of the vaccination coverage.
According to the Global Burden of Disease, about 478,000 people in Bangladesh were infected with typhoid in 2021. Of these, about 8,000 people died. 68 percent of the deaths were children.
Doctors said that typhoid is caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi. It is mainly spread through contaminated water and food. The risk is higher in densely populated areas, slums, low-income communities and those where there is a lack of safe water and healthy sanitation. If infected, not only physical complications occur, but also economic losses and in many cases, death can occur. Vaccination is the safest way to prevent this disease. If the vaccination program is successfully implemented, typhoid deaths in Bangladesh will be reduced to a large extent.
It was informed in the meeting that the registration process for this vaccination is ongoing. Registration will have to be done through the EPI Vaccination App. Students will be vaccinated at their respective educational institution-based centers. Those without educational institutions will be vaccinated at permanent and temporary EPI centers.
Sylhet City Corporation Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Rezai Rafin Sarkar, Chief Health Officer Dr. Md. Zahidul Islam, UNICEF Sylhet Regional Head Dil Afroza Islam, World Health Organization Sylhet Divisional Coordinator Dr. Khalid Bin Lutfar, civil surgeons of various districts, deputy directors of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, and officials of the Health and Education Department of Sylhet Division were present at the meeting.
