Nearly 500,000 children in Bangladesh miss vaccination doses, says global organisations

About 81.6 percent of children in Bangladesh are covered under the national immunisation programme, but nearly half a million of them do not receive all the scheduled vaccine doses on time, according to UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO), and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

A media statement issued on Monday said around 400,000 children in the country have missed at least one vaccine dose while 70,000 have received none at all.

The data shows immunisation rates are lower in urban areas.

In cities, 79 percent of children received all doses while 2.4 percent were not administered a single dose and 9.8 percent missed at least one.

In rural areas, 85 percent of children received full immunisation.

The statement noted that despite improvements in immunisation coverage, the issue of nearly 500,000 children missing routine vaccinations is “concerning”.

UNICEF’s OIC Representative in Bangladesh Stanley Gwavuya urgent steps are needed to reach every child and woman in remote and impoverished urban areas.

UNICEF will continue its support to Bangladesh immunisation programme to reach the last mile through the provision of technical support to planning, supply chain, cold chain, digital innovations and demand generation, he added.