Bangladesh Churches Mobilize as Measles Outbreak Kills Over 600 Children

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Pastor Anwar Hossain drove an hour from Dhaka to his native village in April, but this time the trip was not for a casual visit. He went to comfort families mourning children lost to the worst measles outbreak Bangladesh has seen in decades.

Upon reaching Sreepur Upazila in Gazipur district, Hossain met a family grieving the youngest of three children — a baby who spent a week in hospital before dying. Then he sat with a couple who had just lost their only child, a toddler under two years old, to the virus.

"I went there to console them and pray with them," said Hossain, executive director of the Christian nonprofit HEED (Health, Education and Economic Development) Bangladesh. "But what I saw there made me realize how serious the situation has become."

An Unprecedented Outbreak

Since mid-March, Bangladesh has battled a nationwide measles epidemic stemming from disrupted vaccination schedules and supply shortages. Latest official figures put total cases so far this year at 80,104, with 628 deaths. The worst-hit areas include densely populated settlements in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chattogram, and Khulna, where overcrowded hospitals have run out of beds.

Public health experts have described the outbreak as "unprecedented and explosive." Before this crisis, Bangladesh drew international praise for its childhood immunization standards. But disruptions since COVID-19, coupled with the political uprising in August 2024 that toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's government, dramatically reversed those gains.

An interim administration reportedly halted the measles-rubella vaccine procurement usually done through UNICEF in favor of an open-tender process. Vaccination supplies fell drastically. Between 2019 and 2023, coverage for the first vaccine dose dropped from 88.6 percent to 86 percent, while the second dose fell from 89 percent to 80.7 percent. According to Kabirul Bashar, a medical entomologist, at least 95 percent of children require both doses "to achieve herd immunity."

Christians Mobilize Despite Being a Tiny Minority

Christians comprise less than 1 percent of Bangladesh's 178 million people, but churches and Christian organizations are playing an outsize role in the response — coordinating medical aid, counseling grieving families, raising awareness, and organizing prayer support.

In the last two months, Hossain's HEED Bangladesh has arranged ambulances to take 12 children with suspected measles to Dhaka hospitals. A hospital run by the Christian organization LAMB in northwest Bangladesh's Dinajpur district has donated its own vaccine stock to address shortages at nearby government dispensaries.

The Bangladesh Assemblies of God Church operates 44 Hope Centers across the country, serving 5,000 children through after-school programs. Administrators use weekly "courtyard meetings" with parents to promote vaccination, educate families about symptoms, and encourage prompt medical care.

"All Assemblies of God churches and Hope Centers have also been holding special prayers," said Asa M. Kain, chairman and general superintendent of Bangladesh Assemblies of God Church. "We are vigilant and stand with families suffering as Bangladesh collectively tackles this crisis."

The Roman Catholic Church in Bangladesh — which operates five major hospitals and 80 medical clinics — is treating infected patients and administering vaccines. Catholic dispensaries in rural areas conduct awareness campaigns and arrange transportation for affected families to urban hospitals.

A Preventable Tragedy

Measles is twice as contagious as COVID-19. It can cause serious complications in children under five. The familiar red rash appears about two weeks after exposure, but carriers can transmit the virus before symptoms surface — making early detection and vaccination critical.

Bangladesh's outbreak reflects a global resurgence. Tens of thousands of cases have been reported in Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, and Kazakhstan. Canada lost its measles elimination status last year. The United States, which declared measles eliminated in 2000, recorded 2,288 cases in 2025 — the highest since 1991 — and 2,073 cases already this year.

Bangladeshi church leaders say the key to turning the tide is reaching vulnerable communities, precisely where church-run organizations can make a difference.

"Christian nonprofits are reaching those areas and communities that even government facilities cannot reach," Hossain said.