Hazera Khatun travelled from Rangpur to Dhaka with her 11-month-old daughter, who is being treated for measles at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital. Although treatment at the government hospital is free, the family’s expenses have already exceeded Tk70,000.

Nearly Tk20,000 was spent on transporting the child to Dhaka by ambulance, while daily food costs, diagnostic tests and other incidental expenses have pushed the total much higher. In the end, the family had to borrow money from relatives.

Hazera said her husband works in Saudi Arabia but has not received his salary this month, worsening the family’s financial difficulties.

Her experience reflects that of thousands of other families.

A joint assessment by the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) found that nearly nine out of every ten families affected by measles have been forced to take out loans to meet treatment-related expenses. Six in ten have exhausted their savings.