Media urged to ensure success of typhoid vaccination campaign

Bangla Press Desk: Active engagement of the media has been sought to ensure the success of the nationwide typhoid vaccination campaign set to start on 12 October.

The authorities made the call at a workshop titled “TCV Vaccination Campaign 2025” held at the National Institute of Mass Communication (NIMC) in Dhaka on Monday.

Speaking at the event, Mohammad Altaf-ul-Alam, additional secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and national project director of the “Awareness Program on Development of Children, Adolescents, and Women,” said, “The role of media in safeguarding public health is crucial. The TCV vaccination campaign is a timely initiative to protect children and adolescents. Without active media engagement, it will be difficult to reach every corner of society.”

NIMC Director General and Additional Secretary Muhammad Hiruzzaman, who presided over the workshop, said, “Bangladesh has achieved remarkable success in preventing infectious diseases like polio and cholera, and the media has played a key role in that success. I believe the TCV vaccination campaign will also be successful through responsible media participation.”

The national consultation workshop, organised under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, aimed to strengthen media engagement in disseminating accurate information about TCV.

Around 70 journalists from print, electronic, and online media attended the event and received briefings on the vaccine’s effectiveness, safety, target groups, and awareness strategies.

Bangladesh will launch the vaccination campaign to protect children and adolescents aged nine months to under 15 years, including those from floating and underserved communities.

At the workshop, health officials announced that the WHO-approved Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) is safe and highly effective in preventing typhoid fever.

The vaccination will be provided at educational institutions (from pre-primary to class nine) and at EPI centres for out-of-school children. Children under two years will receive a 0.5ml injection in the thigh muscle, while those over two will be vaccinated in the upper arm.

Experts noted that children in this age group are most vulnerable to typhoid in Bangladesh and that a single dose of TCV offers long-term protection.