Opposition seeks action on Padma, referendum
Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Leader of the Opposition Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Saturday called for effective river management, fair share of the Padma River waters and implementation of the Teesta master plan, warning that the opposition would continue its movement both in parliament and on the DGHS figures show that at least 75 children have died from confirmed measles infections this year, with a further 384 deaths recorded among children displaying measles symptoms — bringing the total to at least 459.
Between 15 March and 17 May alone, 7,767 cases were confirmed through laboratory testing.
Minister points to five-year vaccination gap
Speaking at the inauguration of a public awareness week on measles and dengue at the Jatiya Press Club on Sunday, Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain attributed the outbreak to the absence of routine nationwide immunisation after December 2020 and what he described as a near-total depletion of vaccine stocks inherited by the current BNP-led government.
The minister also pointed to maternal malnutrition as a contributing factor, saying hospital visits had revealed that many mothers were unable to breastfeed adequately due to poor nutritional conditions — a situation he linked to the unusual severity of the current season’s outbreak.
He said the situation has shown some improvement following vaccination campaigns in affected districts, upazilas and city corporation areas conducted with support from UNICEF, and that authorities are now using public announcements to identify and vaccinate children previously missed.
Opposition demands health emergency declaration
The deaths drew a sharp response from the opposition. Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) and the opposition chief whip in parliament, said on Saturday that the child deaths from measles amounted to a government failure and that full responsibility for the crisis rested with the administration.
He called on the government to immediately declare a medical emergency and designate several hospitals exclusively for measles treatment.
‘Both my children have measles at the same time’
The statistics have a human face.
Shahadat Hossain Saddam, a small businessman in Dhaka, is currently waiting outside an ICU where his five-and-a-half-year-old son is fighting measles complications.
In another ward of the same private hospital, his four-and-a-half-year-old daughter is also receiving treatment for the same infection.
Both children fell ill shortly after Eid-ul-Fitr with cough and fever, which Saddam initially dismissed as a common cold.
After a brief improvement at Central Hospital and a return home, both deteriorated again and were subsequently diagnosed with measles.
“As I did not get an ICU bed at Central Hospital, I rushed to various government and private hospitals for a bed.
I could not find one anywhere,” he said — a predicament that reflects wider pressure on families caught between ICU shortages and rising private hospital costs.
Specialists call for timely vaccination and isolation
A scientific seminar held alongside Sunday’s awareness programme brought together leading paediatricians and public health experts. Assistant Professor Farhana Haque of Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College, who presented the keynote paper on measles prevention, underscored the importance of timely vaccination, isolating infected patients and maintaining separate personal items to limit transmission.
The Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), which co-organised the event, said specialised measles and dengue treatment units have already been established in select private facilities, including Holy Family Hospital and Bangladesh Neonatal Hospital.
DAB also said it would soon submit a national guideline on diagnosis and treatment to the government.
