PM Tarique Rahman's claim that 'past two governments committed unforgivable crime' on measles vaccines is misleading

What was claimed?

On 18 April 2026, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, speaking at the Upazila Health and Family Planning Officers' (UHFPO) Conference at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka, stated:

"The life-destroying failure of the last two immediate governments to ensure measles vaccination for children across the country appears to be an unforgivable crime."

His remark pointed accusatory fingers equally at the previous Awami League government (2009–August 2024) and the Dr Muhammad Yunus-led interim government (August 2024–February 2026). The statement was widely covered by bdnews24, Sun BD 24, BanglaVision, and BSS, among others.

Context: Bangladesh has been battling a measles outbreak since mid-March 2026. As of 14 April 2026, 18,219 suspected cases and 164 suspected deaths have been recorded across 58 districts.

Verdict: Misleading — why?

The true half of the claim

It is factually correct that no special measles-rubella catch-up campaign has been conducted in Bangladesh since 2020 ^[1][2]. Gaps in vaccine supply and routine immunisation did accumulate, contributing to the 2026 outbreak.

The misleading half of the claim

1) Sheikh Hasina's government did administer measles vaccines — extensively and consistently.

• 25 January 2014: Then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina personally inaugurated the world's largest-ever measles-rubella vaccination campaign at Gono Bhaban. The three-week drive vaccinated 52 million children aged 9 months to 15 years — to date still the largest MR campaign conducted globally ^[3][4][5].
• 2018: Bangladesh achieved the rubella control goal, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) ^[6].
• January 2020: A dedicated MR campaign targeted 315,000 Rohingya refugee children in Cox's Bazar ^[7].
• 2020: A nationwide MR campaign targeted 34 million children — disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic ^[1].
• Routine coverage: MCV1 92% and MCV2 81% in 2015; MR1 88.6% and MR2 89% in 2019; even in 2023, MR1 86.1% and MR2 80.7% were maintained ^[8].

Health expert Dr Lelin Chowdhury stated: "Nearly 98 per cent of children were previously covered under routine immunisation." ^[9]

2) The postponed June 2024 campaign was not a refusal — it was the result of political crisis.

The Hasina government had scheduled the next MR campaign for June 2024 ^[10]. It had also applied to the Gavi Vaccine Alliance for funding in 2023. However, Bangladesh entered a major political crisis from June 2024 — the quota reform movement that escalated into the Non-Cooperation Movement in July-August 2024. Due to this nationwide historic political crisis, the campaign was postponed ^[10][11]. This was not a government denial of vaccination — it was a national crisis beyond operational control.

3) The actual "unforgivable" failure occurred under the Yunus interim government.

The Dr Muhammad Yunus-led interim government was in power for 18 months (August 2024–February 2026). It inherited: (a) the previous government's full sector programme, (b) Gavi-approved MR campaign funding in 2025, and (c) 18 months of runway. Yet:

• March 2025: The existing sector programme (60% foreign + 40% government funded) was scrapped without adequate preparation ^[12][13].
• After the programme was discontinued, no alternative external funding was sought, nor were sufficient domestic allocations ensured ^[12].
• In Q1 2026, only 27.45% of the required MR vaccine supply was met — 72% of demand was unmet ^[12].
• EPI Director Shahriar Sazzad stated that moving vaccine procurement from the development budget to the revenue budget made fund disbursement more complex and time-consuming ^[12].
• More than 34 health sector development initiatives were stalled ^[12].
• Former Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum has been accused of inaction ^[12].
• A legal notice has been filed seeking a travel ban on Dr Yunus and former advisers over the alleged "unlawful and malicious" initiative to transfer measles vaccination from government control to the private sector ^[14].

4) "Both governments equally to blame" is a false equivalence.

A government that ran MR vaccination campaigns consistently for 15 years, achieved rubella control in 2018, and had scheduled the 2024 campaign cannot be weighed on the same scale as a government that scrapped the ongoing sector programme itself. That is political rhetoric, not evidence-based analysis.

Data Analysis

Hasina government's measles-rubella vaccination record (2009–August 2024)

Yunus interim government's vaccine programme collapse (August 2024–February 2026)

Conclusion

PM Tarique Rahman's claim contains a kernel of truth — there has indeed been a gap in measles vaccination, and no special MR campaign has occurred since 2020. But the framing that "the past two governments" are equally responsible is not supported by evidence. Sheikh Hasina's government ran the world's largest-ever MR campaign, achieved rubella control, maintained 80–92% coverage from 2014 through 2023, and had the June 2024 campaign scheduled — postponed due to the July political crisis, not denial. The actual "unforgivable" failure occurred during the 18-month Yunus-led interim government — which scrapped the ongoing sector programme, ignored Gavi-approved funding, and attempted to privatise vaccination. The claim is therefore misleading.