(The Gist of Kurukshetra) MISSION INDRADHANUSH 2.0: REITERATING INDIA’S COMMITMENT TO VACCINES FOR ALL [DECEMBER-2019]

(The Gist of Kurukshetra) MISSION INDRADHANUSH 2.0: REITERATING INDIA’S COMMITMENT

TO VACCINES FOR ALL [DECEMBER-2019]

MISSION INDRADHANUSH 2.0: REITERATING INDIA’S COMMITMENT TO VACCINES FOR ALL

Introduction

The government is poised to Lund, intensified Mission Indradhanush (Ml) 2.0 between December 2019-March 2020 to deliver programme that is informed by the lessons learned from the previous phases, and seek, to escalate efforts to achieve the goal of attaining a 90 per rent national immunization coverage across India. The programme will be delivered in 271 districts of 27 states and 652 blocks of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar among hard-to-reach and tribal populations.

Key highlights

The Government had launched 'Expanded Program for Immunization' in 1978, which was later termed as the 'Universal Immunization Program (UIP) in 1985 aiming to reduce mortality and morbidity among children from vaccine preventable diseases. India's immunization programme is the largest in the world, with annual cohorts of around 26.5 million infants and 29 million pregnant women. Despite steady progress, routine vaccination coverage has been slow to increase. According to the National Family Health Survey-42015-16 (NFHS-4), the full immunization coverage is around 62 per cent. The factors limiting vaccination coverage include the rapid urbanization, presence of a large migrating and isolated populations that are difficult to reach, and low demand from under informed and unaware populations.

Salient features

Immunization activity will be in four rounds over 7 working days excluding the RI days, Sundays and holidays.
Enhanced immunization session with flexible timing, mobile session and mobilization by other departments’ Enhanced focus on left outs, dropouts, and resistant families and hard to reach areas.
Focus on urban, underserved population and tribal areas.
Inter-ministerial and inter – departmental coordination.
Enhance political, administrative and financial commitment through advocacy.
Intensified Mission Indradhanush immunization drive, consisting of 4 rounds of immunization will be conducted in the selected districts and urban cities between December 2019-March 2020.
After the completion of the proposed 4 rounds, the states will be expected to undertake measures to sustain the gains from IMI, through activities like inclusion of IMI sessions in routine immunization plans. The sustainability of IMI will be assessed through a survey.

Way forward

With the launch of Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0, India has the opportunity to achieve further reductions in deaths among children under five years of age, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of ending preventable child deaths by 2030.
By building on the successes of the past, learning from challenges, and consolidating efforts across stakeholder groups, the country can fulfill its aim of attaining a disease-free India. Vaccines are a truly critical intervention in this journey, and are the key to safeguarding our present, and building a healthier tomorrow for our future generations.