TCV introduction in Bangladesh: October-November 2025

The nationwide Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) campaign in Bangladesh which started 13 October 2025 concluded on 13 November 2025 with exceptional progress and strong national momentum. The campaign consisted of a school-based phase (12–30 October) followed by a community-based phase (1–13 November). By the end of the campaign, 42.47 million children had been vaccinated, achieving an impressive 97% coverage of the national target. This achievement reflects the Government of Bangladesh’s strong leadership, well-coordinated partner support, and extensive engagement of communities, schools, and frontline health workers throughout the campaign period.

A robust monitoring and supervision system underpinned the campaign’s success. Rapid Convenience Monitoring (RCM) was prioritized to identify missed children, particularly in high-risk, densely populated, and hard-to-reach areas. By 13 November, 386,941 children had been assessed through RCM, with 97% found vaccinated, demonstrating widespread reach and community acceptance. Vaccination card possession among assessed children reached 83%, with manual cards making up the majority. The key reasons for non-vaccination included lack of awareness, child illness, distance to vaccination centers, and fear of adverse effects. Families received information mainly from health workers, teachers, guardians, community leaders, and religious figures.

Out-of-school children aged 9 months to under 15 years were reached through community sites, while microplanning at local levels helped identify unvaccinated children in specific institutions. Based on these micro plans, vaccination teams revisited schools and communities to ensure coverage of remaining eligible children. Despite initial setbacks, including rumors and misinformation, public confidence grew steadily as communities witnessed organized service delivery and trusted local influencers became involved.

Coverage across divisions was consistently high. Divisional performance ranged from 90.7% in Dhaka to 100.2% in Mymensingh, with several divisions surpassing 100% coverage due to population denominator adjustments and high turnout. Barishal, Chattogram, Rajshahi, and Rangpur also performed strongly. At the district level, the highest-performing districts exceeded 101% coverage, while the lowest-performing districts reported coverage between 77.9% and 92.7%.

Session-site supervision further highlighted strong operational performance. More than 136,000 supervision visits were conducted nationwide. Indicators showed consistently high compliance: nearly all sites were clearly marked with Moni flags (99.6%), maintained controlled crowds (99.7%), had sufficient vaccine vials and syringes (99.7–99.8%), followed safe injection practices (99.7%), and had AEFI documentation and anaphylaxis kits available (96–99%). The presence of trained vaccinators and volunteers—including teachers and community influencers—contributed to strong service delivery.

A Joint Monitoring Mission involving DGHS, WHO, UNICEF, and international experts visited all eight divisions from 3–6 November, assessing session quality, community perceptions, and conducted rapid convenience monitoring (RCM). A national debriefing took place on 9 November, confirming the campaign’s overall high performance, driven by strong microplanning, digital tools such as VAXEPI and real-time dashboards, and effective multisectoral collaboration.

However, challenges remained. These included human resource shortages, delayed social mobilization, difficulties reaching marginalized populations and children in urban slums, and deficiencies in waste management practices. Monitors recommended reinforcing routine immunization platforms, enhancing social mobilization efforts, strengthening urban outreach strategies, and improving waste disposal systems.

Overall, the TCV campaign delivered a major public health achievement in Bangladesh, successfully vaccinating over 42 million children and reinforcing trust in immunization services nationwide.

Photos of the TCV introduction and joint monitoring