Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain Bakul has said that a sudden surge in measles cases has caught the country off guard, describing the outbreak as striking ‘like lightning.’

”We had no preparation. Measles has come suddenly like a lightning strike,” he said while speaking on Thursday morning during a visit to Shere Bangla Nagar Shishu Hospital in the capital.

The minister announced that a nationwide vaccination campaign will begin on Sunday (April 5), using vaccines collected from UNICEF, adding that, efforts are underway to procure additional measles vaccines, which are expected to arrive within a month.

Addressing broader healthcare concerns, Sakhawat Hossain said the government would soon hold discussions to resolve issues related to the salaries of porters and demands from health assistants and other frontline workers.