Haryana Government would provide electronic equipment to ASHA workers throughout the State to enable them to keep complete record of the vaccination with an impression of thumb.
The State Health Minister, Anil Vij on Tuesday said training would be imparted to ASHA workers so that no child in the age group of 0 to 5 remained deprived of the vaccination.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the procurement of pneumococcal vaccine through UNICEF was also signed between the National Health Mission, Haryana, and UNICEF, here on Tuesday.
The MoU would benefit about 5.5 lakh children in the state and three doses of the vaccination would be administered to them free of cost.
This vaccine is available in the market for about Rs 9,000 to Rs 12,000 and only prosperous families can afford it. The MoU would benefit the people of the state to the extent of Rs 500 crore to Rs 600 crore annually, said the Health Minister.
Vij said the disease caused through pneumococcus bacteria resulted in the death of about 16 per cent children in the country.
With the help of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UNICEF has agreed to provide this vaccine at cost price which would be borne by the State Government. To be made available in government hospitals of the state within next 2-3 months, it would help in reducing the infant mortality rate. Fewer pneumonia patients would now be admitted to hospitals and there would no financial burden on the poor, said the Minister.
Speaking on the occasion, UNICEF representative, louis Georges Arsenault, said every day more than 2,500 people got affected with this disease and to control this, UNICEF had started the campaign to reach out to every single person.