Dhaka, Feb. 4 -- A study has revealed that about 16 percent of children are still deprived of vaccination as the "coverage" of the programme has not increased in over a decade.

The study, jointly conducted by the Shastho Shurokkha Foundation and UNICEF Bangladesh, also highlighted several barriers to the Extended Programme on Immunization, or EPI.

The findings of the research were disclosed at a media briefing titled "Successes, existing challenges, and future actions of the vaccination programme in Bangladesh" at the capital's National Press Club on Monday.

The EPI coverage was below 2 percent in the country in 1984, said the foundation's Executive Director Nizam Uddin Ahmed in the keynote presentation.

"It is currently at 83.9 perce...