At one time, Bangladesh’s child vaccination program was considered a global role model, but now the program is being disrupted due to a shortage of vaccines. That means children are not receiving vaccines on time, and in places where stock is completely unavailable, children are being entirely deprived of vaccination.
Several districts in Bangladesh have been experiencing a shortage of EPI (Expanded Program on Immunization) vaccines for more than a month. Munshiganj, Manikganj, Chandpur, and Cumilla are among them. Previously, these vaccines were provided free of cost, but since last year, for the first time, Bangladesh has had to purchase them. Although health officials have verbally admitted the shortage to BBC Bangla, they have not acknowledged it on camera.
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Chandpur’s Civil Surgeon, Dr. Nur Alam Din, told BBC Bangla that pentavalent vaccines are currently completely unavailable. When asked when this crisis would be resolved, he commented that only the directorate could “answer that properly.”
Manikganj’s Civil Surgeon, Dr. Md. Khurshid Alam, stated that four EPI vaccines are currently “stocked out.” He said that for the past month, OPV, Penta, PCV, and IPV vaccines have not been available in Manikganj.
