States, Districts With 90% Immunisation Coverage to Get Awards

Full immunization against preventable childhood diseases is the right of every child. To achieve full immunization coverage for all children at a rapid pace, the Government of India launched Mission Indradhanush in December 2014.

Government of India has introduced "Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI)" in select districts and urban areas of the country to achieve the target of more than 90% coverage. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said that his Ministry will give awards to the best performing districts and states who have achieved 90 percent full immunisation coverage under the Intensified Mission Indradhanush.

‘The strategy of IMI is to cover all left outs and drop outs in select districts and urban areas with low routine immunisation coverage in a specific time-frame (December 2018). And, the Health Ministry will give the awards to the best performing districts and states.’

"The Health Ministry will give the awards to the best performing districts and states based on the performance in Intensified Mission Indradhanush evaluated through the reported coverage and monitoring findings.

"The states and the districts should achieve 90 per cent full immunisation coverage for getting rewarded," said Nadda, as he reviewed the progress of the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) with the Health Ministers and Principal Secretaries of 24 states.

Stressing that immunisation is recognized as the most cost-effective intervention for protecting children from vaccine-preventable diseases, the Minister said: "The gains made under IMI have to be integrated into routine immunisation for sustainability."

Source: IANS