India may be a leading producer and exporter of vaccines, but an estimated 28 per cent of total infants born in the country are still missing out on basic vaccines.
Being unvaccinated keeps them at the highest risk of catching life-threatening but preventable childhood diseases such as diphtheria, measles, pertussis, pneumonia, polio, rotavirus diarrhoea, rubella and tetanus.
According to the latest Government data tabled in Parliament recently, in as many as 17 States including Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha, immunisation coverage is below the national average of 72.71 per cent in 2012-13 as on April 15.
Each year full immunisation prevents approximately 4 lakh under-five deaths from vaccine preventable diseases in India. But close to 75 lakh children every year miss the benefits of childhood vaccinations. A majority of those missing the opportunity are from among underserved and marginalised populations in rural and tribal areas.
There is a large interstate variation in the coverage of the immunisation programme. Except Mizoram which has shown a way by reporting higher immunisation coverage of 107.76 per cent, none of the States have even managed to ensure immunising all infants. In three States, more than half of the total infants born are not getting vaccinated mainly due to poor health facilities, weak components of UIP (vaccination schedule, delivery and monitoring, and VPD/AEFI surveillance) and unawareness. These States are — Arunanchal Pradesh (29.37 per cent), Odisha (39.96 per cent), and Sikkim (38.95 per cent).
There are seven States where more than 90 per cent children in the age between 12 and 23 months were immunised. These are Goa (90.65 per cent), Karnataka (94.93 per cent), Kerala (94.63 per cent), Chandigarh (94.39 per cent), Maharashtra (94.03 per cent) and Manipur (92.91 per cent). Clearly, even these States known to have better health facilities, the immunisation programme is facing challenge as 10 per cent are not being vaccinated. Even Delhi, the Capital of India is no exception.It reported poor coverage with just 69 per cent of total infants getting immunised.
Realising that it would miss reaching to Millennium Development Goals on Infant mortality rate (IMR), the Health Ministry has now announced launching special immunisation session in high-risk areas for four weeks in a year, with one week each in the months of April, June, July and August.
“Four weeks, with one week each in the months of April, June, July and August will be used to hold special immunisation sessions in high-risk areas across the country,” said Anuradha Gupta, additional secretary in the Health Ministry while announcing the programe on Monday.