Children are dying from measles every day. The death toll remains almost the same, or close to the same, on a daily basis. Some are saying that in several heavily affected districts, there are now signs that the outbreak is beginning to subside. If the seasonal change has indeed contributed to a decline in infections, that is certainly good news for the country and a major relief for the people. Because there can be no greater pain for a nation than the daily death of children. Therefore, there is no alternative but to bring the country out of this crisis as quickly as possible.

However, with deep concern, people across the country are observing that the government appears to be taking a back seat and placing the blame solely on past failures. The past is always the past. It’s also important to note that, in the past, some individuals associated with NGOs held positions of power. But the government’s responsibility now is to confront the current situation and take the necessary decisions.

For nearly the past two months, it has been evident from official figures that most of the more than 400 children who died did not receive proper treatment in time. The reasons behind that failure can be examined later. We urgently need to ensure there is no further negligence in treatment. To achieve that, all specialists in the country must work together to save children’s lives. For this to happen, the government must rise above all forms of vindictiveness. Just as the country’s leading burn specialist, Dr. Samanta Lal Sen, was reportedly not allowed to provide treatment after the Milestone accident, the same must not happen in this case. Because the work of a specialist cannot simply be done by someone else. At the same time, there is no alternative but to immediately declare measles treatment a national emergency.

And once something is declared an emergency, all necessary measures must be taken without delay. The longer the delay, the more children will die, one after another. At this moment, the hope and desire of every conscious citizen is that children’s lives be placed above everything else.