Following a nationwide surge in measles cases in Bangladesh, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has increased its medical response in Cox’s Bazar. MSF teams are providing care to affected children from Rohingya refugee camps and surrounding host communities, while also supporting an ongoing vaccination campaign.

Since January 2026, measles cases have risen sharply across Bangladesh, affecting nearly all 64 districts. Cox’s Bazar, home to more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in the world’s largest refugee settlement, is among the most at-risk areas, where overcrowded and precarious living conditions increase the likelihood of rapid transmission and complications among an already vulnerable population.

According to health sector data, more than 330 suspected and 40 laboratory-confirmed measles cases have been recorded in the camps, including three associated deaths. In neighbouring host communities, almost 160 suspected cases have been reported.

“Measles cases had been reported regularly in the district earlier this year, but we observed a sharp increase from March, accelerating further in April,” says Mieke Steenssens, MSF Country Medical Coordinator. “Our teams have been mobilised both inside and outside the camps to provide care for affected patients—most of them children under five, many presenting with severe pneumonia.”