New Delhi: To create awareness about vaccinating every eligible child and intensify efforts to improve routine immunisation coverage, government launched Special Immunisation Week.
Under the plan, four weeks -- one week each of the months of April, June, July and August -- will be used to hold special immunisation sessions in high-risk areas across the country, that will help improve immunisation.
Every year, full immunisation prevents about four lakh under-five deaths from vaccine preventable diseases in India, but close to 75 lakh children every year miss the benefits of such childhood vaccinations.
Globally every fifth child is immunised, while a majority of those missing the opportunity in India are from among the marginalised populations and being unvaccinated keeps them at highest risk of catching life-threatening diseases.
"The Special Immunisation Week is an opportunity to reinforce India`s Call to Action for child survival and development," Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission, said while launching a new communication campaign at the India Habitat Centre here today.
The new communication campaign comprises a new routine immunisation logo, TV spot, radio spot and posters and was organised in collaboration with UNICEF, which was part of the first Special Immunisation Week (April 24-30) awareness initiative.
PTI
