A severe shortage of rabies vaccines has been reported in several hospitals across Bangladesh, leaving patients like Ruby Akter from Munshiganj struggling to buy doses privately after dog bites. Hospital officials confirmed that government supplies of rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) have stopped, forcing facilities to ration limited stocks and ask patients who can afford it to purchase vaccines themselves. The shortage is particularly acute outside major cities, though Dhaka’s Infectious Disease Hospital reportedly has full supply.

The crisis extends beyond rabies vaccines. The country’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) is also facing depleted reserves of multiple vaccines, including those for measles and rubella. Officials at the EPI office in Dhaka acknowledged that the national “buffer stock” has run out, while the health minister publicly denied any shortage, claiming six months of supply remain. Public health experts warned that the absence of reserve stocks poses serious epidemic risks.

The report links the crisis to the government’s withdrawal from the health sector’s five-year Operational Plan in 2025 without a replacement funding mechanism, disrupting procurement and leaving vaccine transport workers unpaid for months.