Countries: Bangladesh, Myanmar Source: International Rescue Committee Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 29, 2026 — The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has launched an emergency vaccination and outbreak response in Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar as a widespread measles outbreak across Bangladesh reaches one of the world’s most densely populated refugee camps. Bangladesh is now battling one of its most serious measles outbreaks in decades, with the disease spreading to 58 of the country’s 64 districts. As of 28 April, over 34, 600 suspected cases have been reported and more than 200 people confirmed to have died from the disease. The risk of rapid transmission is acute in Cox’s Bazar, where nearly a million Rohingya refugees live in overcrowded conditions with limited access to health services. The IRC is mobilizing swiftly to ensure children in the camps and surrounding host communities are reached before the outbreak accelerates further. Hasina Rahman, IRC Bangladesh Director, said, “This is the most serious health outbreak Bangladesh has seen since COVID19 and the consequences could be catastrophic. Those most at risk of catching measles are children who have already lived through severe disruption, many of whom have grown up in an overcrowded refugee camp or fled violence with their families. With health services in Cox’s Bazar already under pressure, children have missed vaccinations and lost access to routine care. The IRC is on the ground now because delivering immunisations today is far less costly and far less dangerous to a child’s health than managing severe disease later. “This outbreak is a direct consequence of years of strain on the health system in Bangladesh and caused by lack of resources to meet the needs of local communities and a growing refugee population. It is critical that the international community scales up funding for the humanitarian response in Bangladesh to enable the sustained investment in primary health care, immunization infrastructure and community health workers. This is the foundation of an effective health system that prevents outbreaks like these from becoming major health catastrophes.” In coordination with the government of Bangladesh, the IRC has launched an emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign on 26 April, targeting approximately 20, 000 children aged six months to five years across five IRC-supported camps and adjacent host communities. Alongside the vaccination drive, IRC community health workers are conducting household-level outreach across Rohingya and Bangladeshi communities, helping caregivers identify early symptoms, understand when to seek care and access vaccines, and supporting emergency referrals of suspected cases. IRC health facilities are maintaining daily surveillance of suspected cases and frontline health workers have received targeted training in measles detection, infection prevention and case management to keep pace with rising caseloads. The Bangladesh measles outbreak is a warning signal of a pattern playing out across multiple humanitarian settings where access to routine health services has been repeatedly disrupted, creating the conditions to allow preventable diseases to take hold and spread rapidly. The IRC’s response in Cox’s Bazar draws on its position as a long-term health service provider in the camps, able to quickly activate networks of community volunteers and health workers when crises emerge. It is critical that the international community recognise the urgent needs in Bangladesh and scale up funding before this outbreak causes significant harm to refugee and local host communities. The IRC began responding to the Rohingya crisis in August 2017 and launched its response officially in March 2018. With over 400 staff in Bangladesh and operating across 33 camps across the division, our teams provide essential healthcare to the host community as well as Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar, as well as reproductive and maternal healthcare, child protection, education, prevention and response to Gender-Based Violence, and Emergency Disaster Risk Reduction (EDRR). Media contacts Nancy Dent nancy. dent@rescue. org IRC Global Communications communications@rescue. org
IRC launches emergency measles response for 20,000 children in Rohingya refugee camps as Bangladesh outbreak spreads
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