Case sought against Yunus, Nurjahan over failure to procure measles vaccines

An application has been filed with a court seeking a criminal case against the interim government's Chief Adviser, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum, and two others, alleging that their failure to procure measles vaccines and take appropriate preventive measures led to the deaths of more than 600 children.

The application was submitted on Sunday (July 5) to the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam in Dhaka by Sirajul Islam, the father of nine-month-old Sauda Nuskan, who died after contracting measles.

The two other accused named in the application are former Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Professor Dr. Md. Abu Jafar, and former Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, Shafiqul Alam.

According to the complaint, Sauda Nuskan, a resident of Shariatpur Sadar Upazila, developed a high fever in early March this year. As her condition did not improve despite receiving treatment locally, she was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) during the first week of March. The complaint alleges that she did not receive adequate treatment or support for measles at the hospital and was later transferred to the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Mohakhali on March 22.

The application further alleges gross negligence by the hospital's doctors and nurses. It states that on March 26, the attending physicians handed an oxygen cylinder to the child's mother and instructed her to place the oxygen mask on the baby.

However, being distressed and inexperienced, the mother was unable to fit the mask properly. The complaint claims that the doctors then asked a hospital cleaner to place the oxygen mask on the child. Approximately two hours later, the infant died.

The plaintiff's lawyer, Taslima Jahan Popy, said the court recorded the complainant's statement and kept the matter pending for a later order.

Earlier, on June 8, another application was filed seeking a case against former interim government's Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus, former Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum, and three others over allegations of failure to treat children infected with measles and the resulting large-scale loss of life.

That application was submitted to the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) in Dhaka by independent Member of Parliament from Kishoreganj-5, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Iqbal.

The other individuals named in that application were former Health Secretary Saidur Rahman, Dr. Yunus's then Special Assistant Dr. Sayedur Rahman, and former DGHS Director General Dr. Abu Jafar.