Dhaka – Bangladesh has vaccinated approximately 17 million children aged nine months to 15 years in a nationwide anti-typhoid campaign, according to health officials.
The campaign, which began on October 12 and will run through November 13, was detailed in a progress review meeting in Dhaka on Thursday.
The meeting was attended by officials from the government’s Extended Program on Immunization (EPI), UNICEF Bangladesh, and the Health Protection Foundation.
A report presented at the meeting revealed that children from one month to under 15 years are the most vulnerable to typhoid fever in Bangladesh.
A 2021 survey reported that approximately 8,000 people died of typhoid in the country, with nearly 6,000 of those fatalities occurring among children under 15.
Experts note that the disease is primarily transmitted through contaminated water and unhygienic food.
Under the “Typhoid Vaccination Campaign-2025,” the government is providing typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCV) free of charge to all children aged nine months to under 15 years.
The campaign’s goal is to administer a single TCV dose to approximately 49 million children nationwide.
This includes students from playgroup and kindergarten through class IX, as well as children of the same age group not enrolled in educational institutions.
Mohammad Shahriar Sajjad, Deputy Director of EPI and Surveillance, presented the campaign’s progress and outlined plans to strengthen its implementation.
The event’s chief guest was Professor Md. Sayedur Rahman, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Chaired by Health Services Division Secretary Md. Saidur Rahman, the meeting also featured as special guests Professor Md Abu Jafor, Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), and Dipika Sharma, Deputy Representative of UNICEF Bangladesh.
