When COVID-19 vaccines started to arrive in Bangladesh, people felt a rush of hope. Families and friends could meet again. Life would maybe feel more normal. And it meant schools might reopen.  

For children in Bangladesh, the pandemic has been a crisis like no other, affecting their education, health and well-being. About 37 million children in the country missed out on almost 18 months of in-person learning. It was imperative that vaccines were rolled out quickly and for that to happen, the COVAX vaccine sharing initiative was crucial.  

It was a year ago that the first COVID-19 vaccines shared through COVAX landed in Bangladesh. COVAX is a ground-breaking global collaboration led by UNICEF and partners, which is committed to the production and equitable distribution of vaccines across the world. Since those doses touched down in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, the country has become the largest recipient of COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX.