Bangladesh, May 26 -- The numbers are devastating. As of May 24, 2026, Bangladesh has recorded 63,813 suspected measles cases and 8,622 confirmed cases, with 528 children already dead - 442 among suspected cases and 86 confirmed. The vast majority of victims are children under five.

What makes this crisis so painful is that measles is a completely vaccine-preventable disease. For years, Bangladesh was seen as a success story in child immunization.

Today, that reputation has collapsed. Years of declining vaccination coverage, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, political turmoil after 2024, and serious vaccine stockouts in 2024-2025, created a massive pool of unprotected children.

The government finally launched an emergency measles-rub...