A writ petition has been filed in the High Court challenging the decision to shift the country’s decades-old public measles vaccination program to the private sector. The petition terms the move "criminal negligence" following a recent measles outbreak that reportedly claimed the lives of over a hundred children. It seeks a formal investigation into the matter and a travel ban on former interim government Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus and 24 others until the inquiry concludes.
Supreme Court lawyer Barrister M. Ashraful Islam filed the petition on Sunday (May 17). The writ alleges that those involved prioritized vested interests by transferring vaccine management from public control to private entities. It requests the court to form an independent investigation committee.
The petition names several top officials as respondents, including the Cabinet Secretary, Health Secretary, Home Secretary, Public Administration Secretary, and the Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Previously on April 6, Barrister Islam sent a legal notice to the authorities demanding an inquiry committee within five days and travel restrictions on Dr. Yunus and members of his advisory council. He filed the writ petition after receiving no response to the notice.
"Measles has broken out severely across the country again. Over a hundred children have died, and numerous children and citizens remain hospitalized," Barrister Islam said, justifying the legal action.
The petition specifically seeks travel bans against Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Dr. Asif Nazrul, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Adilur Rahman Khan, Nurjahan Begum, Brigadier General (Retd.) M. Sakhawat Hossain, Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Mostafa Sarwar Farooki, and former Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, among others, over their alleged roles in the transition of the immunization program.
