Aimed at protecting the lives of children by bringing them under full vaccination coverage, the Mission Indradhanush will be rolled out from Vidisha district on April 7. The Mission Indradhanush will be executed in four phases and each one will be of a week time. Children upto two years of age and expectant mothers would be covered under the Mission Indradhanush. The second phase will start from May 7, third from June 7 and fourth from July 7.
Reviewing the strategy of vaccination coverage under the Mission Indradhanush at Mantralaya on Monday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan gave instructions for proper training of the staff associated with the mega vaccination campaign. Raising public awareness must be the top priority, he said adding that the protection of children and mothers is the foremost objective. It is every citizen's responsibility, he added. The Chief Minister also urged the sarpanchas and mayors to actively participate in the activities of Mission Indradhanush and ensure that every child is administered all vaccines.
He said that involving responsible citizens, parents would pave way for the success of the Mission and Madhya Pradesh would become a front ranking state in respect of full coverage of vaccination. It is worth noticing here that Madhya Pradesh stays ahead of the national average of 65 per cent vaccination with its impressive 66.4 per cent. The Mission Indradhanush pursues the goal of achieving 100 per cent vaccination.
It was informed that all preparations for the successful execution of the Mission have been completed. It was informed that 64 per cent children remain without vaccination only due to lack of information and expected level of awareness. The Mission Indradhanush aims at reaching out to the inaccessible geographical portions. Notably, 15 of 201 districts listed out by the Government of India from across the nation needing intensive vaccination coverage are from Madhya Pradesh.
They include - Alirajpur, Anuppur, Chhatarpur, Damoh, Jhabua, Mandla, Panna, Raisen, Rewa, Sagar, Satna, Tikamgarh, Umaria, Shahdol and Vidisha. Going a step further, the Mission is covering all districts. Those who attended the meeting included Minister for Health Narottam Mishra, Chief Secretary Anthony DeSa, Principal Secretary Health Praveer Krishna and other senior officers.