The interim government of Bangladesh under its Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus who held the power helm, post the ouster of Sheikh Hasina regime, is infamous for its ill-informed policies. As an impact of the Yunus regime, Bangladesh was politically fractured, economically fragile and socially disintegrated with spiking communal atrocities, especially targeting the minority Hindu community. Post the February national elections of Bangladesh, the BNP government led by Tarique Rehman has risen to power and Muhammad Yunus has slipped into silence. He has been a negligible factor in the political trajectory of Dhaka.
However, the blunders of the Yunus regime and its irrational policies indeed has after effects in Bangladesh. Lately, deadly measles disease has been spreading in the country and thousands have been severely affected and more than 250 children are dead. Tracing the roots of the sudden outbreak of the disease and what caused the death of huge numbers of children, reveals that, sudden and abrupt shift in the vaccine procurement policy by the Yunus regime has led to delay in supply and vaccine crunch. This has led to a massive surge in the measles disease across Bangladesh, resulting in humongous death of the children.
As per the reports, more than 250 children, predominantly belonging to the age of 5 years and less have succumbed to death. As per the World Health Organisation(WHO) data, in March and April 2026, 19,161 cases of measles were detected in 58 out of 64 districts of Bangladesh. The highest cumulative burden of measles has been reported from Dhaka which has 8263 active cases. Rajshahi has 3,747 cases, Chattogram has 2,514 cases and Khulna region has 1,568 cases. Especially, the people who are residing in the densely populated regions of Dhaka and are in informal settlements are severely affected by the massive measles outbreak, WHO statement said.
Innocent children of Dhaka are victim to the unsound policies of Yunus
The WHO report further adds that children aged under 5 years account for the majority of reported cases which is 79 per cent, including children aged under 2 years who comprise 66 per cent of the total cases and infants aged under 9 months are also affected which comprises 33 per cent. A total of 166 suspected deaths have been reported, mainly among unvaccinated children aged under 2 years, WHO further asserts.
The root cause of this massive children’s death is the ill-informed and naive vaccine procurement policy of the Yunus regime. As per the reports, in September 2025, Yunus-led interim government of Bangladesh, suddenly halted the procurement of vaccines to treat measles via UNICEF(United Nations Children’s Fund), Gavi and the Vaccine Alliance. Instead, it decided to purchase the vaccines for measles through an open tender system.
However, UNICEF severely resisted and opposed Yunus regime regarding its decision to procure vaccines via a tender system rather than the UNICEF channel, as it might have severe health impact. Despite the warning, the Yunus government dismantled the vaccine purchase through UNICEF and embarked on an open tender system. This abrupt, least vigilant and miscalculated policy decision of the Yunus administration led to delay in vaccine procurement that led to shortage of vaccines. As an impact, only 59 per cent of the total children who were in need of the measles vaccine received the medication.
These data related to vaccine supply crunch was published in the Bangladesh government websites, however later deleted. Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Muhammad Yunus in the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare denied allegations on the interim regime regarding the vaccine procurement disaster. He said that the interim government doesn’t have any role in the ongoing measles outbreak in Bangladesh.
This also shows the sudden U-turn by the Yunus regime with respect to vaccine procurement. Previously, the former Special Assistant of Yunus had defended the shift in the vaccine procurement policy of the Yunus regime. He had reiterated that the shift in the vaccine procurement policy was done in order to accelerate a regular and rule-based vaccine supply system. This sudden U-turn by the Yunus regime reflects its double standards.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman acknowledged the shortage of measles vaccines in the country, while addressing the Parliament on April 22. The outbreak of measles is said to have been triggered from the Rohingya refugees camp near the Myanmar border which quickly spread across Bangladesh. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman further promised to ensure swift supply of the vaccine and bridge the supply gap. Over 2 crore children have since been administered vaccines, after UNICEF urgently supplied vaccines to Dhaka.
Measles is a highly contagious viral infection causing high fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and rashes. 90 per cent of the unvaccinated people, especially children are vulnerable to this contagious disease. If unvaccinated and improperly treated, measles can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis in young children, leading to death. Yunus government with its abrupt policy and corruptive motive has caused the death of the innocent children. Measles outbreak is thus the latest atrocity in the series of failed policies and selfish deeds and inhuman actions committed by the interim government of Bangladesh under Muhammad Yunus, which also includes severe violence and killing of the minority Hindu community.
