At the time when a country-wide child immunisation campaign is underway, Haryana’s most backward district - Mewat-seems to have remained deprived of the initiative.
The district has recorded the worst rate of immunization cover, which stood at just 32 percent, as per the latest survey of the Haryana Health Department. Mewat continues to record high infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate, low children immunization rate making a mockery of the claim of the State Government that health facilities will be taken to the doorsteps of the people in Haryana.
Chief Minister’s Manohar lal constituency Karnal, meanwhile, has recorded highest immunization coverage of 91 percent. The statistics with the Haryana Health Department reveal, the child immunisation coverage, which was 74 percent in fiscal 2014-15 has witnessed slight jump to reach 76 percent by 2015-16 (till now).
In Mewat, the immunization coverage increased from 26 percent in 2014-15 to 32 percent in 2015-16. The officials of Health Dept attribute the failure of various health related initiatives in the Muslim-dominated district to socio-cultural taboos that still exist in Mewat.
Among other districts, Palwal recorded child immunization rate of 52 percent followed by Jhajjar at 68 percent. The districts achieving more than 80 percent immunization rate this year included Yamunanagar (88 percent), Sonepat (85 percent), Narnual (89 percent), Panchkula (87 percent) and Fatehabad (88 percent).
Surprisingly, the child immunization cover also witnessed downward trend from 94 percent (2014-15) to 75 percent (2015-16) in Kurukshetra. The immunization rate also dropped in Jind district from 87 percent (2014-15) to 75 percent (2015-16), 70 percent to 52 percent in Palwal, 93 percent to 87 percent in Panchkula, 91 percent to 75 percent in Rohtak and from 85 to 72 in Rewari.
The State had launched the first round of ‘Mission Indradhanush’ in 13 districts in April and later, the second phase was rolled out in all 21 districts of the state in May, with an aim to reduce the high infant mortality rate in Haryana. Mission Indradhanush, depicting seven colours of the rainbow, aimed at covering all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated or are partially vaccinated against seven vaccine preventable diseases which include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and Hepatitis B.
For Mewat district, the Department had taken assistance of maulvis to make the immunization programme a success among children under two years of age and pregnant women, yet the results fell short of fixed target. Notably, the IMR in Haryana stood at 41 in 2013, exceeding the national average of 40. IMR is defined as the number of infants’ death (mortality within one year of birth) per thousand live births. The districts namely Mewat, Karnal, Panipat, Bhiwani and Kaithal have high IMR in Haryana.
Known for its abysmally high infant mortality rate (IMR), the State has now planned to launch in February, the three-dose vaccine that will play a crucial role in preventing the diarrhea due to rotavirus, which is responsible for large number of infant deaths.