Dhaka, Nov. 9 -- Health Minister Md Sakhawat Husain has taken responsibility for child deaths linked to measles, saying he would blame no one else.

He was responding to a journalist at the inauguration of a four-storey building at Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute in Dhaka on Monday.

"The deaths from measles are my responsibility. I am to blame. Hang me. I am the health minister; I failed. I will not blame anyone else. This is my failure. But I am trying," he said.

The minister said most children contracting measles had not been vaccinated, and many were under six months old.

He cited parental reluctance and fear of injections, but said the government could not go beyond protocols.

"We are taking measures in consultation with ...