UNICEF issued multiple written warnings to the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government regarding an impending national vaccine shortage, the UN agency’s representative to Bangladesh revealed on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka, UNICEF Representative Rana Flowers disclosed that the agency sent five to six formal letters and held at least 10 meetings with the Ministry of Health between 2024 and February 2026 to alert authorities about the crisis.
The revelation adds weight to ongoing public criticism of the interim administration's handling of the national immunization program. It follows recent media reports detailing a specific warning letter Flowers sent to then-Health Advisor Nurjahan Begum on February 10 just two days before the national election.
Flowers clarified that the February letter was far from their first attempt to raise the alarm.
"I may not have all the specific dates in front of me right now, and I believe that will come out in the investigation," Flowers told reporters. "But I know that we sent five or six letters between 2024 and February 2026."
Addressing the timing of the February 10 correspondence, Flowers explained it was a strategic effort to ensure the incoming administration would immediately grasp the severity of the situation.
"That particular letter was sent in the hope that whoever assumed the post in the new government would find it directly on their desk," she said. "Following that, we followed up to seek information and requested meetings."
Flowers emphasized that she personally pleaded with senior bureaucrats and the health advisor during high-level meetings.
"I told them, 'We are worried.' I said, 'Look at my face I am worried that you are going to run into a shortage.'"
The interim government, which assumed power following a student-led mass uprising in August 2024, is now facing intense scrutiny from public health experts over the resulting disruptions to the routine childhood immunization schedule.
