Mission Indradhanush is an initiative, which will work towards giving healthy life to children in the country. This novel mission will be implemented in 201 selected districts of 28 States in the country. For the mission, 15 districts of Madhya Pradesh have been selected including 5 districts of Sagar division. Children upto pregnant women will be vaccinated during 4 phases of one week each on April 7, May 7, June 7 and July 7.
A media workshop was held at Sagar on Wednesday to sensitise media representatives with issues pertaining to Mission Indradhanush and seek their continued cooperation in campaign of larger public interest. State Vaccination Officer Santosh Shukla informed the workshop about present status of vaccination in the State.
Dr AH Garuha of World Health Organisation while throwing light on objectives of the mission said that this vaccination programmes guards against seven deadly diseases. He stressed the need for publicity regarding the mission, especially at rural level, which possible only through constant cooperation of media.
UNICEF Consultant Dr Vandana Bhatia said that all left out children in rural areas are being vaccinated under this programme with the cooperation of ASHA and Anganwadi workers. In Madhya Pradesh, over one lakh children below five years of age die every year. lives of most of such children can be saved through complete course of vaccination. Children have right to be administered right vaccine in right age properly.
The workshop was informed that State’s has to be made number one in the country in total vaccination. The 15 districts in which vaccination campaign under Mission Indradhanush is being undertaken are backwards with regard to vaccination. About 2.60 lakh children will be vaccinated. Necessary arrangements for this have been made by Health Department with the cooperation of UNICEF and World Health Organisations. Vaccination campaign suffers due to lack of awareness and fear of ill effects. Therefore, media’s role is important in this.
Sagar is a division whose all districts have been covered under the mission. The 15 districts in the state covered under the mission include Sagar, Chhatarpur, Damoh, Tikamgarh, Panna, Jhabua, Mandla, Raisen, Rewa, Satna, Shahdol, Umaria, Alirajpur, Anuppur and Vidisha. Scheme involving about one lakh field workers has been chalked out so that there should be no possibility of any child being left out.
Preparations upto district and block level have been completed. The workshop was conducted by Anil Gulati.