Tk 2cr sought for each child measles death

A writ petition was filed with the High Court on Sunday seeking Tk 2 crore in compensation for each family of 352 children who died from measles amid an outbreak that reportedly began in March 2026.

The petition also sought court directives to set up specialised measles treatment units equipped with ICU, PICU and necessary diagnostic facilities at every district hospital and upazila health complex across the country.

Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Humayun Kabir Pallob and others filed the petition on behalf of the human rights organisation Law and Life Foundation Trust.

The writ was submitted with permission from the High Court bench of Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury.

The secretary to the Directorate General of Health Services, the secretary to the Home Ministry, the director general of DGHS and the director of IEDCR were made respondents to the rule.

According to the writ petition, 352 children have so far died in the severe measles outbreak that started in Bangladesh in March this year.

It said thousands of children across the country
are being infected, turning the situation into one of the most serious public health crises in the country’s recent history.

The petition claimed the deaths were neither sudden nor unavoidable.

It alleged that the crisis was caused by changes in vaccine procurement and supply systems, disruption of long-standing effective mechanisms, failure to act on warnings from international organisations and inadequate healthcare infrastructure.

It further said that after the long-standing vaccine procurement system managed through UNICEF was changed and the interim government introduced an open tender system, serious disruptions occurred in the supply and vaccination programme for measles.

The petition also claimed that UNICEF repeatedly warned the then health adviser, Nurjahan Begum, about a possible vaccine shortage, disease outbreak and risk of child deaths, but the warnings were not heeded.

It sought the formation of a 10-member investigation committee comprising representatives from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.

The proposed committee would identify the root causes of the outbreak, administrative failures and those responsible, and submit a report to the court within 30 days.

The petition also requested the court to direct the authorities to submit an affidavit within seven days detailing the current status of the stock, preservation and supply systems of measles and rabies vaccines across the country.

It said many children failed to receive timely medical care due to a lack of adequate ICU, PICU and specialised treatment facilities at district and upazila levels.

Many families moved from one hospital to another but could not secure ICU or PICU beds for their children, leading to several deaths, the petition added.

A legal notice was sent to the authorities on May 5, requesting urgent measures.

As no effective remedial steps were taken after the notice period expired and the measles situation continued to worsen, the writ petition was filed in the public interest, the petition said.