Mother Rubina Akter is finally breathing a slight sigh of relief as her eight-month-old daughter, Tabassum, prepares to return home to Pabna after a week-long battle with measles at DNCC Hospital in Mohakhali, Dhaka. Yet even amid that relief, the burden of debt incurred for the child’s treatment continues to overshadow any sense of joy.
Rubina said she has already had to borrow Tk30,000 for her daughter’s treatment, in addition to spending whatever savings she had.
“It is a huge relief that my daughter is recovering, but I am constantly worried about how we will repay the money we borrowed,” she said.
Rubina said her husband works as a carpenter. Since she came to Dhaka with their sick eight-month-old daughter for treatment, her husband has been staying home to look after their two other children and has been unable to work. Of their three daughters, one is seven years old and another is three and a half.
“On one hand, we have no income. On the other, we are burdened with Tk30,000 in debt. I cannot think straight anymore,” she said.
According to Rubina, her daughter had been suffering from recurring fever for about a month before falling seriously ill 10 days ago. She was first admitted to Rajbari Sadar Hospital, where she received treatment for four days before being discharged. However, just one day after returning home, the child suddenly developed a 104-degree fever and lost consciousness.
A doctor was called to the house, and the child regained consciousness shortly afterward, but the fever would not subside. Rubina then decided to travel to Dhaka alone with her sick daughter.
Unable to afford an ambulance, she boarded a bus to Dhaka. When she left home, she had only Tk850 with her. Her husband told her to start the journey and promised to send money later through bKash, which he eventually did.
Rubina recalled that the baby cried continuously and remained extremely restless throughout the bus journey.
By the time she arrived in Dhaka, it was already night. Accompanied by her younger brother, she went from one hospital to another in search of admission for her daughter. They first went to Dhaka Shishu Hospital, but the child was not admitted. They then went to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, where admission was again denied. From there, they took a CNG-run autorickshaw to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, but the child could not be admitted there either. By then, it was around midnight.
Rubina said that as she was leaving the hospital gate in despair with her sick child, a CNG driver suggested they try Mohakhali Hospital. Her daughter was finally admitted to DNCC Hospital at around 1am.
Treatment began immediately, including several tests and examinations. Doctors informed her that the child’s body was extremely weak and advised her to provide nutritious food.
“We are poor people. We cannot even afford regular meals properly, so how can we buy nutritious food?” Rubina said.
Since her daughter fell ill, the family has incurred significant expenses during the hospital stay. Rubina’s mother, who works as a domestic worker, also spent a week at the hospital supporting her daughter and granddaughter.
A similar struggle is being faced by Rezaul and Rabeya from Dimla upazila in Nilphamari, who live in Mirpur with their two daughters in search of a livelihood. Rabeya’s husband drives a rented rickshaw, while Rabeya works in a garment factory. During the day, the father looks after the children, and at night, after the mother returns home, he goes out to drive the rickshaw.
On May 2, their seven-month-old daughter Rifa suddenly developed fever and cough. She was first taken to the private MR Khan Hospital in Mirpur, where doctors prescribed lotion and medication for what they thought was an allergy.
However, on May 10, the child developed rashes and fever. She completely stopped eating, while her cough worsened and sores appeared in her mouth.
The parents took her to Shyamoli Shishu Hospital on the same day, but she could not be admitted because no beds were available. They then went to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, where the child was treated and sent home with medication.
But just one day after returning home, the child began coughing up blood. Terrified, the parents rushed her to Kurmitola General Hospital, from where she was referred to the DNCC Dedicated Covid and General Hospital.
Treatment started there, but doctors struggled to insert a cannula. The baby’s tiny hands and feet became covered with needle marks as repeated attempts failed. Eventually, doctors managed to insert the cannula after transferring her to the ICU. Meanwhile, she also developed diarrhea.
On the night of May 16, at around 11:30pm, the child’s condition suddenly deteriorated further, and she was moved from the ward to the ICU. Her condition improved slightly the next day, but the family still does not know when she will be shifted back to the ward or discharged.
In just 15 days, the family has spent around Tk25,000 on treatment.
“We are poor people. We have no savings of our own. My husband has been unable to work for 15 days, and I cannot attend my duty either. We are continuing our child’s treatment by borrowing money from different people,” they said.
Although the hospital provides some medicines, many additional expenses still have to be borne by the family, including food and other essentials.
The couple’s eight-year-old daughter has been left in the care of relatives in Dhaka. Rabeya said she is now worried whether she will even be able to keep her garment factory job.
Around Tk25,000 has already been spent on their daughter’s treatment, all of it borrowed money. With one daughter in the ICU and mounting debt on the other side, the family says they are overwhelmed.
“We do not know how we will repay the money,” Rezaul said. “Neither of us can work right now. Our daughter is still in the ICU, so there is no certainty about how much more money we will need or how much more debt we will have to take on.”
The struggles faced by families like Rubina’s and Rabeya’s illustrate how the nationwide measles outbreak is pushing vulnerable households to the brink.
Experts warn that if the outbreak continues, it could further intensify the financial crises already affecting many low-income families.
Conversations with parents at Dhaka Shishu Hospital, DNCC Hospital and the Infectious Diseases Hospital over the past several days revealed that families are rushing to the capital because local hospitals are unable to handle severe complications.
For poor families, a health crisis is rapidly turning into a financial crisis. Many children were already suffering from other illnesses before contracting measles, exhausting whatever savings their families had.
After infection, many parents are being forced to borrow money from neighbours or informal lenders to cover ambulance fares, medicines and the cost of staying in Dhaka.
Although treatment at government hospitals is comparatively less expensive, costs can rise to several lakh taka in private hospitals or in complicated cases requiring ICU support. For low-income families, this pressure becomes unbearable.
Another family from Brahmanbaria said both of their children had contracted measles. After their younger child recovered from pneumonia and measles, the elder son developed measles within days. When his condition worsened, he was referred from Brahmanbaria to Dhaka.
The helpless family arrived in Dhaka with both children and secured a bed at DNCC Hospital on May 15.
“Travelling from Brahmanbaria to Dhaka by ambulance, along with other expenses, cost us Tk12,000,” the family said, adding that treatment costs were continuing to rise.
They said treatment for the younger son had already cost around Tk40,000, and they have no idea how much more will be needed for the elder child.
“It is already difficult to manage daily expenses with our income. Now we are having to borrow money for treatment,” they said.
Experts say the measles outbreak has hit poor and slum communities the hardest due to weak vaccination coverage and lack of awareness. Malnutrition and overcrowded living conditions are further increasing the risk of infection.
Public health expert Mushtaq Hossain said the crisis is largely rooted in the living conditions of poor communities.
“Malnutrition and overcrowded environments create favourable conditions for infection, putting low-income children at greater risk,” he said.
He added that many parents delay going to hospitals because of financial fears, by which time the disease becomes more complicated and treatment costs increase.
“When they are finally forced to take their children to hospitals, the illness has often become severe, treatment becomes more expensive, and in many cases children’s lives are put at risk,” he said.
Mushtaq Hossain further said that treatment alone cannot break this cycle. He stressed the need for structural support systems for poor communities, including community-based healthcare and support centres in slum areas.
“This would reduce the burden on families and ensure that no child loses their life because of financial fear,” he added.