New Delhi: Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said that India is implementing the largest immunization programme globally by covering more than 3 crore pregnant women and 2.6 crore children through Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) annually.
Dr Mandaviya was speaking at a programme while lunching Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0 in presence of state health ministers of Assam and Gujarat along with health department officials from other States. The health minister said that IMI 4.0 will have three rounds and will be conducted in 416 districts across 23 states and UTs across India.
"In the first round (February-April), 11 States will conduct IMI 4.0 including Assam, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, J&K, Meghalaya among others. The rest 22 states including Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur among others will conduct the second round from April to May this year," said Dr Mandaviya. He said that India's efforts have been reflected in the latest National Health Survey which has indicated increased coverage.
"Vaccines are one of the most effective, affordable, and safe methods to protect infants, children and pregnant women from disease and mortality," said Dr Mandaviya.
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Asserting that under IMI, all vaccines under the universal immunization programme are provided as per the national immunisation schedule, Dr Mandaviya said mission Indradhanush was also identified as one of the flagship schemes under Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (16,850 villages across 541 districts) and extended the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (48,929 villages across 112 aspirational district).
"While the pace of routine immunisation has slowed down due to Covid pandemic, IMI 4.0 will immensely contribute in filling the gaps and make lasting gains towards universal immunization. It will ensure that routine immunisation service reaches the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children and pregnant women," Dr Mandaviya said. To date, ten phases of Mission Indradhanush have been completed, covering 701 districts across the country.
As of April 2021, during the various phases of mission Indradhanush, a total of 3.86 crore children and 96.8 lakh pregnant women have been vaccinated. "As a result of continuous efforts over the years for strengthening routine immunization and immunization intensification drives conducted from time to time, the immunization coverage shows a considerable improvement as per the latest report of National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) as compared to National Family Health Survey -4 (2015-16). The full immunization coverage among children aged 12-13 months of age has increased from 62 per cent (NHFS-4) to 76.4 per cent (NFHS-5)," said Dr Mandaviya.
