“Students are our future, and their good health is the foundation of a developed, prosperous Bangladesh,” said Dr AFM Khalid Hossain, Religious Affairs Adviser, while addressing a typhoid vaccination campaign at Chattogram Collegiate School and College on Sunday.
He expressed confidence that Bangladesh would soon set an example to the world by becoming a typhoid-free nation.
The event was presided over by Chattogram Divisional Health Director Dr Sheikh Fazle Rabbi. Distinguished guests included Divisional Commissioner Dr Zia Uddin, Private Secretary to the Religious Affairs Adviser and Joint Secretary Sadeq Ahmed, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Dr Mohammad Manjurul Islam, Additional Divisional Commissioner Mohammad Nurullah Nuri, and Professor Dr Farhad Hossain.
Other notable attendees were Chattogram Range Additional DIG Md Tarekur Rahman, UNICEF Chief of Field Office Madhuri Banerjee, Divisional Director (Family Planning) Abu Saleh Md Forkan Uddin, CMC Hospital Associate Professor Dr Md Musa Mia, and Civil Surgeon Dr Jahangir Alam.
Speakers highlighted the government's strong commitment to improving child health. Typhoid, a life-threatening bacterial infection, spreads through contaminated water and unhygienic food. In Bangladesh, an estimated 350,000 children are infected annually, with around 6,000 deaths.
To combat this, the government has launched one of the largest immunisation campaigns in its history, aiming to vaccinate 50 million children aged between 9 months and 15 years. In the Chattogram division alone, over 9.7 million children are expected to receive the vaccine.
The Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV), approved by the World Health Organization, is safe, highly effective, and provides long-term immunity. It also helps reduce the threat of drug-resistant typhoid. Pakistan, Nepal, and India have already implemented the vaccine successfully. With its inclusion in the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), thousands of lives can be saved each year.
The vaccine will be administered free of charge, requiring only birth registration for enrolment. A separate process will be in place for unregistered children. The campaign runs from 12 October to 13 November, with the first two weeks focused on schools, followed by community outreach.
Medical teams have been deployed across districts and upazilas to manage any post-vaccination reactions. Experts assured the public that minor side effects like fever or fatigue are normal. The vaccine is halal and certified by the Saudi Halal Centre. A multimedia awareness drive is ongoing, engaging teachers, religious leaders, journalists, scouts, and guides to ensure accurate information reaches all communities.
