Steps to check child mortality rate
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 11 2015 : About 5 lakh chidren in India die every year due to want of timely immunisation.

The State is taking up every possible measure to extend its immunisation programmes to the furthest corners of the State as a step to check child mortality rate.

Directorate of Family Welfare Department Deputy Director Dr Thokchom Nandakishore, in an exclusive interview with The Sangai Express asserted the above adding that in most cases of death due to lack of immunisation, the parents/guardians fails to immunise their children either because they are too busy or they are careless enough to leave their child unvaccinated.

To accelerate the process of immunization the Government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Mission Indradhanush on December 25, 2014 with an aim to immunize all the children under two years of age against seven vaccine preventable diseases namely diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B by 2020 .

In Manipur Mission Indradhanush was launched by the Health Minister Phungzathang Tonsin on April 7, 2015 at four selected districts of the State - Churachandpur, Senapati, Ukhrul and Tamenglong.

The district wise routine immunisation and vaccination coverage in the first phase and second phase of the Mission are highlighted as below.

Churachandpur district recorded 55 percent coverage in the first phase and 46 percent in the second phase of immunisation session.

In the vaccination session, out of the targetted 2821 children 76 percent were vaccinated in the first and second phase of the mission.

Eighty nine percent coverage was achieved in the case of expecting mothers in the two phases of vaccination.

In Senapati district, the Directorate achieved 94 per cent coverage out of the targetted 306 children in the first phase of vaccination and 86 percent in the second phase.

In the immunisation session, from a 2286 target, the Directorate achieved 53 per cent coverage in the first phase and 83 in the second phase.

A 31 percent coverage out of 948 target was achieved in the first phase and 15 percent in the second phase of vaccination session for pregnant women of the district.

Officials at Tamenglong district recorded 89 per cent coverage in the first phase of the immunisation session out of 126 target and 82 percent in the second phase.

The vaccination session recorded a 46 percent and 44 percent vaccination out of the targetted 1818 children.

In case of expecting mothers, 16 percent and 13 percent in the first and the second phase was recorded out of a 627 target.

For Ukhrul district, the figure recorded was 58 percent in the first and 105 percent in the second phase of immunisation.

The vaccination session recorded a 26 percent coverage in the first phase and 32 percent in the second phase out of a 1272 target.

While in the case of pregnant women, only 4 percent in the first and 8 in the second phase out of 1282 target were covered.

In total, the State the district immunisation session achieved a 78 percent coveraage in the first phase and 98 in the second from an estimated 731 target while the vaccination session covered 45 percent in the first and 53 percent in the second phase against a 7797 target.

The vaccination coverage for pregnant women however stood at a mere 21 percent in the first and 24 percent in the second phase against a 3408 target.

The Mission would continue till July, 2015, Dr Nandakishore stated.

Answering to why the four particular district have been selected for the Mission, Dr Nandakishore said these district are the areas with least immunisation coverage.

The State immunisation data recorded only 50 percent coverage in the said areas which made implementation of the Mission in the said areas a necessity.

Expecting mothers would be vaccinated against Tetanus toxiod and children under two-years of age would be administerd with Polio zero dose, Hepatitis B vaccination, diphtheria, pertussis and Tetanus bascillus and Bacille Calmette-Gu�rin (BCG) under the mission.

The above mentioned vaccination and immunisation doses must be registered on time to avoid future complicacies, Dr Nandakishore told The Sangai Express.

Comment