Bangladesh has launched an emergency vaccination campaign after a fast-spreading measles outbreak is suspected of killing more than 100 people, mostly children, in what may be the country's most lethal wave of the disease in recent history. The campaign, which began on Sunday, comes amid more than 7,500 suspected measles cases since 15 March, according to health ministry data. More than 900 of these cases have been confirmed - a sharp increase from 2025, when just 125 measles cases were recorded over the entire year, local media report. While Bangladesh has long vaccinated children against the highly contagious disease, the recent outbreak has exposed gaps in its programme, raising concern. Vaccines are foundational to child survival, Rana Flowers, the UNICEF representative in Bangladesh, said in a statement, adding that the current measles outbreak was putting thousands of children, especially the youngest and most vulnerable, at serious risk. In Bangladesh, a nation of 170 million people, routine measles vaccines are given to children as young as nine months old. However, about one-third of those infected in the recent outbreak were under nine months old, according to health officials. Many parents have expressed frustration over vaccination shortages linked to the former interim government's oversight of a new vaccine procurement system. UNICEF has highlighted how the resurgence of measles often stems from accumulated gaps rather than isolated factors, stressing the importance of regaining high immunization coverage to prevent further outbreaks.