The United Nations Children’s Fund repeatedly warned Bangladesh’s interim government about an impending vaccine shortage through multiple letters and high-level meetings, cautioning that delays in procurement decisions could trigger a major health crisis -- months before the country plunged into its deadliest measles outbreak in decades.
Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka on Wednesday, Unicef Representative to Bangladesh Rana Flowers said the agency sent at least five or six formal warning letters between 2024 and February 2026 while also holding around 10 meetings with government officials over fears of vaccine supply disruptions.
“I sat with the interim adviser and the staff on at least 10 occasions saying, ‘We are worried. Look at my face. I am worried. You’re going to face a mountain,’” Flowers said.
Her remarks come as Bangladesh struggles with more than 60,000 measles infections and at least 481 deaths this year, the country’s worst outbreak in recent history.
According to Unicef, the crisis deepened after delays emerged in vaccine procurement decisions during the interim government period.
Flowers said Bangladesh opted for an open bidding process for vaccine procurement despite already facing vaccine shortages, a move Unicef repeatedly warned would delay delivery and disrupt immunization programs.
“The issue for Bangladesh was the fact the number of vaccines that were needed,” she said.
“To go for an open bid when you already faced an outage was a decision that was taken and on which the interim minister was badly advised.”
She stressed that Unicef was not criticizing the decision to move vaccine purchases under the revenue budget system itself, but rather the delays surrounding procurement execution.
“Whether you’re making a decision to procure through Unicef or whether you do it as open bidding, you do it in a timely fashion,” she said.
“The bottom line is that vaccines have to be in country well in advance when you need them for your vaccinations.”
Bangladesh had never recorded more than 50,000 measles infections in a single year over the past two and a half decades.
The previous highest was in 2005, when 25,934 cases were reported.
Health officials say the overwhelming majority of infections this year involved children.
Despite the scale of the outbreak, Flowers said the nationwide emergency immunization campaign has now helped stabilize the spread of the virus.
“The good news is 18 million children have been reached with the measles vaccination,” she said.
“The spread of measles is now contained.”
She also praised exhausted frontline health workers who carried out emergency vaccination drives across the country.
“The health workers who I saw across the country who were exhausted also get our sincere thanks for that effort,” she said.
Flowers urged parents to ensure children receive missed routine vaccinations to prevent future outbreaks.
“Please encourage parents to vaccinate, to go to the health facilities now to get the other vaccines that they may have missed,” she said.
The Unicef official also strongly rejected allegations that the organization profits from vaccine procurement deals.
“Unicef does not make a profit on the procurement of vaccines,” she said.
“There are no smoke and mirrors. No payments under the table. Nothing.”
She explained that Unicef procurement systems operate under long-standing agreements with governments globally and are designed to secure vaccines at highly competitive prices.
“It is in a direct agreement with Unicef because of the fact that our pricing is so competitive,” she added.
Flowers welcomed the government’s decision to investigate the vaccine shortage and related measles deaths, saying Unicef would fully cooperate with any inquiry.
“The after-action review will be critical to identify what in the future we do differently,” she said.
Asked whether Unicef would support investigations into the procurement delays, Flowers replied: “Unicef is always on the side of truth.”