United News of Bangladesh

A writ petition was filed with the High Court on Sunday seeking its directives to provide Tk 2 crore each to the family members of 352 children died from measles. The petition also sought directives to establish specialized measles treatment units equipped with ICU, PICU and necessary diagnostic facilities at every district hospital and upazila health complex across the country. It also sought directives to form a 10-member investigation committee comprising representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), which would identify the root causes of the measles outbreak, administrative failures and those responsible, and submit a report to the court within 30 days. Besides, the petition also sought an order directing the authorities to submit within seven days an affidavit to the court detailing the current status of the stock, preservation and supply systems of measles and rabies vaccines across the country. Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Humayun Kabir Pallob and other filed the petition on behalf of human rights organisation Law and Life Foundation Trust on Sunday. Secretary to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), secretary to the Home Ministry, Director General of DGHS, and director of IEDCR were made respondents to the rule. The writ was submitted with permission from the bench comprising Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury. According to the writ petition, 352 children have died so far in the severe measles outbreak that began in Bangladesh in March 2026. Thousands of children across the country are being infected and the situation has already turned into one of the most serious public health crises in the country’s recent history. The petition said these deaths were neither sudden nor unavoidable. Rather, the disaster resulted from policy changes in vaccine procurement and supply systems, disruption of long-standing effective mechanisms, ignoring warnings from international organizations, and the lack of adequate healthcare infrastructure, it said . It also said that after a long-standing vaccine procurement system managed through UNICEF was changed and the interim government introduced an open tender system, serious disruptions occurred in the supply and vaccination programme for measles in the country. It also said that UNICEF repeatedly warned the then health adviser, Nurjahan Begum, about a possible vaccine shortage, outbreak of the disease and the risk of child deaths, but those warnings were not heeded. The petition also said due to the lack of adequate ICU, PICU and specialised treatment facilities at district and upazila levels across the country, many children did not receive timely medical care. It said many families moved from one hospital to another but failed to secure ICU or PICU beds for their children, resulting in the deaths of several children. On May 5, 2026, a legal notice was sent to the relevant authorities requesting to take urgent measures in this regard. As no effective remedial steps were taken even after the expiry of the notice period, and the measles situation continues to worsen every day, the writ petition was filed in the public interest, it said .