The High Court has directed the Ministry of Health to submit a progress report within 30 days outlining the measures taken to manage the nationwide measles outbreak and protect children.
A bench comprising Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury delivered the order on Tuesday.
Alongside the directive, the court issued a rule questioning why a 10-member investigation committee-comprising representatives from the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR)-should not be formed to identify the primary causes of the outbreak and those responsible.
The rule further sought justification as to why the government should not be directed to provide adequate compensation to the families of every child who has died during the outbreak.
The secretary of the Health Services Division, the Home Secretary, the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), and the Director of the IEDCR have been instructed to respond to the rule.
During the proceedings, Advocate Khan Mohammad Shamim Aziz represented the petitioner, while Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal appeared for the state.
The public interest litigation was filed on 10 May by Supreme Court lawyer Humayan Kabir Pallab, with the hearing on the writ petition taking place on Monday.
Official data reveals the scale of Bangladesh’s ongoing measles crisis with 42,868 people hospitalised for suspected measles between 15 March and 18 May, of whom 38,980 have been discharged.
During this same period, there were 389 deaths linked to suspected measles, with 75 deaths confirmed as being caused by measles
