Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain has said that a significant number of children are being affected by measles due to irregular vaccination in recent years. He noted that the current situation cannot yet be described as an epidemic and does not warrant the declaration of a state of emergency.

The minister made the remarks on Monday after inaugurating a measles-rubella vaccination campaign in Rupganj, Narayanganj.

Sakhawat Husain said the resurgence of measles was largely due to failures of the previous government. He added that the country had not been adequately prepared for the recent outbreak, with insufficient vaccine stocks at the time. However, he noted that the ongoing vaccination campaign is now progressing successfully with support from UNICEF and other international organizations.

He further said that many mothers are not breastfeeding their children regularly for various reasons, leading to nutritional deficiencies. Medicines alone cannot ensure children’s health, he added, urging mothers to be more cautious in this regard.