The government has launched a “mop-up campaign” to identify children missed during earlier phases of the vaccination programme and bring them under immunisation coverage, targeting another 35 lakh children for measles-rubella vaccination across the country over the next month.
The campaign will cover children living in hard-to-reach areas and remote char regions, children with disabilities and those who, for any reason, were unable to receive the vaccine during previous phases.
State Minister for Health and Family Welfare MA Muhit made the remarks on Wednesday at an event at the Korail T&T playground in the capital to mark the measles-rubella vaccination campaign.
“Around 2 crore children have already received the measles-rubella vaccine across the country. However, the government’s goal is to ensure that not a single child is left out of the vaccination programme. That is why a mop-up campaign has been launched this time to identify children missed earlier and bring them under vaccination,” he said.
Muhit said children living in remote and hard-to-reach areas, children with disabilities and those who missed earlier rounds of vaccination for any reason would be identified and vaccinated.
The main objective of the campaign is to reach every child and ensure their protection, he said.
Highlighting progress in the government’s measles-control efforts, Muhit said: “We are working with a target of vaccinating around another 35 lakh children over the next month.”
Referring to the challenges of restructuring the health system, he said healthcare had received special emphasis in the election campaign and manifesto under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Alongside increasing people’s productivity, the government was also giving importance to disease-prevention programmes, he said.
Muhit thanked the US government, Gavi and UNICEF for their support in implementing the programme.
He said health workers, city corporation officials and other stakeholders were identifying children even in remote hill areas and far-flung char regions.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Administrator Md Safiqul Islam Khan said DNCC officials were going door to door to identify children who had missed vaccination.
He said steps were being taken in coordination with the Directorate General of Health Services to ensure vaccination of those children.
Alongside targeted activities to reach children missed in earlier phases, ambulance services were also being used in the campaign, he added.
US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Eric Geelan said support was being provided under the “America First Global Health Strategy” to deliver life-saving vaccines to vulnerable children and strengthen Bangladesh’s capacity to tackle future disease outbreaks.
UNICEF Bangladesh Chief of Communication and Advocacy Miguel Mateos Muñoz said around 34 lakh children still needed to be vaccinated to close immunity gaps against measles and prevent new infections and deaths.
Reaching every vulnerable child and further strengthening routine immunisation were now the priorities, he said.
