Government to intensify efforts to reach every last child with vaccination

Immunization communication campaign launched during Special Immunization Week

The new eye catching logo for the Immunization communication campaign

NEW DELHI, 29 April: To create awareness on the urgency to vaccinate every eligible child and intensify efforts to improve RI coverage, the Government of India has launched Special Immunization Weeks. Four weeks, with one week each in the months of April, June, July and August will be used to hold special immunization sessions in high-risk areas across the country.

Each year full immunization 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 marginalized populations. Being unvaccinated keeps them at highest risk of catching life-threatening childhood diseases. Globally, every fifth child is unimmunized.

“The Special Immunization Week is an opportunity to reinforce India’s Call to Action for child survival and development,” said Anuradha Gupta, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission, while launching a new communication campaign in the presence of media, development partners, and health officials at the India Habitat Centre.

(From Left-to-Right) Dr. Rakesh Kumar-Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Anuradha Gupta-NHRM, Louis-Georges Arsenault, Unicef representative to india

The new communication campaign comprises a new RI logo, TV spot, radio spot and posters. The media event, organized in collaboration with UNICEF, was part of the first Special Immunization Week (April 24-30) awareness initiative.



“The new RI logo and other communication material will promote consistent messaging to raise awareness on the urgency of reaching every child with life-saving immunization,” added Anuradha Gupta. She encouraged her state counterparts and development partners to focus on ensuring that vaccines that are provided free of cost under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) reach every last child in the country.

Year 2012-13 was declared as “Year of Intensification of Routine Immunization.” Intensification efforts saw the expansion of Pentavalent vaccine to six more states in India after successful introduction in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Advatages of Immunization

“Pentavalent vaccine expansion is a significant step in India’s Call to Action to renew its commitment to child survival and development by strengthening key strategic public health interventions. Pentavalent protects children from Hib pneumonia and Hib meningitis in addition to protection from diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and Hepatitis B.,” said Dr Rakesh Kumar, Joint Secretary, RCH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Emphasizing on UNICEF’s focus to promote equity in programme results, Mr. Louis-Georges Arsenault, UNICEF India Representative said, “In India, inequity persists within and between states. There are geographical, rural-urban, poor-rich, gender and other related differences in vaccination coverage. Disparities need to be addressed to reach every last child. The Special Immunization Week is an opportunity for all of us to renew focus on ensuring equity in immunization coverage.”

“The Special Immunization Week lays sufficient importance on generating awareness about immunization and to reach marginalized populations in brick kilns, urban slums and other hard-to-reach areas. Engagement with media and other key stakeholders have been planned and will be continued in the following weeks,” said Dr Ajay Khera, Deputy Commissioner, Child Health and Immunization, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Special Immunization Week is observed each year in late April to promote the use of life-saving vaccines, one of the world’s most potent tools to immunize children against killer diseases. Concerted efforts to immunize children have reduced or eliminated the incidence of devastating illnesses:
1. Smallpox was eradicated in 1980.
2. India has been polio free for the last two years.
3. Between 2000 and 2011, measles deaths dropped 71% worldwide. India introduced 2nd dose of measles vaccination in 2010.
4. 18 states have eliminated neo-natal tetanus between 2003 and 2013.

In June 2012, the Governments of Ethiopia, India and the United States with UNICEF, USAID and other partners launched a global roadmap to end preventable deaths of children under the age of five. Since then, under the banner of Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed, more than 170 countries have signed up and renewed their commitment to child survival. In February 2013, Government of India launched a Call to Action on Child Survival and Development in Tamil Nadu, renewing the promise towards further reducing Under 5 mortality in India. The Summit also arrived at a set of agreed actions that will sustain the momentum and promote accountability in India’s journey towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals related to maternal and child mortality.
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For further information, please contact:
1. Dr. Pradeep Haldar, DC, Immunization, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India; Tel: 91-11-23062126
2. Dr Ajay Khera, DC, Child Health and Immunization, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India; Tel: 91-11-23061281
3. Sonia Sarkar, Communications Officer (Media), UNICEF; Tel: 9810170289

Only vaccinations can save the world

From: Amar Ujjala

Immunization: The Big Picture

Immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions. According to the latest data, in 2011, global efforts to immunize children with vaccines against life-threatening diseases reached 107 million children and averting an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths per year along with countless episodes of illness and disability.

However, despite significant gains in recent years, some 22.4 million children (almost 20% of children born each year) are not immunized, exposing them to disabilities or premature death. Among immunized children, more than 70% live in the 10 countries with the largest populations and the weakest immunization structures in the world.

Immunization has the potential to boost a country's growth. Immunization makes economic sense. Many analyses weighing the costs versus the benefits of vaccination have shown positive economic impact. What's more, the infrastructure, management and acceptability of immunization programmes offer a platform to deliver other integrated health and nutrition interventions.

Vaccines work by introducing into a person's immune system a harmless form of a bacterium, toxin or virus that a healthy person's body recognizes as unusual and responds by devising a defense (immunity) against it.

The most commonly applied global standard of routine immunization coverage is reflected in an individual's receipt of three doses of DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) vaccine, or DTP3. The most recent estimates (2011) show a continuing positive trend in global DTP3 coverage, which was received by 83% of children under one year of age.


Disparities in immunization coverage exist within and among the world's regions and countries.  While DTP3 coverage is 96% in the industrialized countries, none of the regions in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have been able to attain such high coverage, leaving large unimmunizatied populations in the least developed countries. To make matters worse, an inequity of coverage prevails within many countries, especially developing countries.

UNICEF and its partner organizations are responding to the challenge with a global push to ensure that the hardest children to reach – most of them in Africa and Asia – are immunized. Major initiatives are underway to accelerate the development and deployment of new and underused vaccines, for example hepatitis B (Hep B) and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine. The number of countries using Hep B vaccine has increased from 107 in 2000 to 180 in 2011 and for the Hib vaccine, has increased from 29 in 1997 to 177 in 2011.

Significant progress has been made to reduce mortality and morbidity due to vaccine preventable diseases such as polio, measles and maternal and neonatal tetanus through supplementary immunization activities or campaigns, in addition to routine vaccination programmes. These campaigns provide valuable opportunities to reach children in older age groups compared to routine vaccination and to introduce other high-impact life-saving interventions such as vitamin A tablets, insecticide treated bed nets and de-worming tablets.

Achievements aside, there are daunting challenges in vaccinating all target children, not least of which is rising cost. Providing traditional and new vaccines (such as HepB and Hib) can now cost as much as $20 to $40 per child. Other obstacles to higher coverage include non-availability of sustainable resources, poor management and logistics systems, inequity in services, and a lack of community engagement.

From: UNICEF Global website

Karnataka Government Reaches Out To Millions Of Children With Pentavalent Vaccine

As part of the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), the vaccine will be administered in government hospitals and clinics across the state.

Bangalore, April 5, 2013: The Pentavalent vaccine, the vaccine which prevents killer diseases in children like diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis-B and Influenza-B has been incorporated into Universal Immunisation Program in Karnataka from March 17, 2013. The vaccine will now be a single injection providing protection against Hib diseases* and will replace earlier used DPT and hepatitis –B injections.

 The vaccine is in use for more than 20 years in nearly 180 countries. More than 160 million doses of Hib-containing pentavalent vaccine were distributed worldwide in 2012, including approximately 90 million doses manufactured in India. The vaccine has an excellent safety record that is well researched and published.
The vaccine was launched as a part of UIP in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in December 2011 and following the recommendations of a post-introduction evaluation led by World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2012, it has also been introduced in Gujarat, Goa, Pondicherry, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and Delhi. The vaccine is recommended by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.




The vaccine that was available only at private health facilities earlier in Karnataka will now be a part of routine immunization schedule of the Government’s UIP.  The move will help reduce the burden of child mortality and disability in children because of Hib diseases. During the launch of the vaccine in March, the Hon’ble Chief Minister and Health Minister of Karnataka urged all parents to get the benefit of this vaccine from government health facilities across the state.

In an effort to create awareness among public about the vaccine and to promote the benefits of the immunisation program, the Government of Karnataka and the National Rural Health Mission, Government of India and supported by UNICEF, WHO and other program partners presented several critical aspects related to the pentavalent vaccine program implementation in the state.

During an interactive session with the media, Mr. Madan Gopal, Principal Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka said, “Universal Immunization Programme has proved beneficial to millions of children. The Government of Karnataka has taken a major step to ensure disease free childhood in the state, and pentavalent vaccination will bring down child mortality and morbidity further”. Dr. Geetha Nyamgoudar, Project Director, RCH added that “Infants will be given three doses of the vaccine at 6, 10, and 14 weeks of age. Approximately 11 lakh infants will benefit from this vaccine this year and every year in the state.”

Speaking on the importance of Pentavalent vaccine expansion in UIP, Dr Satish Gupta, Health Specialist, UNICEF said, “Pentavalent vaccine expansion is a significant step in India’s Call to Action to renew its commitment to child survival by strengthening key strategic public health interventions. Two out of five infants in India - nearly 40% of children - does not receive these life-saving vaccine doses. The children missed by essential vaccinations remain defenceless against these killer diseases.” The media workshop held in Bangalore sets off a series of activities that are being planned by the Government of India, UNICEF, WHO and other partners to mark the World Immunization Week from April 24-30 and builds on the Government’s routine immunization campaign.

The dialogue with media from all over Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi was facilitated by experts from the Government of Karnataka, WHO and UNICEF and, also included representatives from professional bodies such as Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP).
Participants from the media shared insights on how media can be an important partner in creating awareness about the vaccine. The workshop provided an opportunity to establish meaningful collaboration with practitioners from the media and discuss the importance of immunization programme and underlining benefits of Pentavalent Vaccine.

Note to Editor
Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) is a bacterium which causes severe pneumonia, meningitis and other life-threatening conditions in children less than five years of age. An estimated 24 to 30 lakh serious cases and 72,000 child deaths due to Hib diseases (pneumonia and meningitis) are reported every year in India. Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in 1-59 month old children (16%) in India. Giving pentavalent vaccine means reducing the number of pricks to a child from six to three, with additional protection from Hib diseases. Hib Vaccination can prevent over a third of pneumonia cases and 90% of Hib meningitis cases. Furthermore, 15- 35% of meningitis survivors suffer permanent neurologic damage.

For further information please contact:
Govt. of Karnataka:

Dr. Geetha Nyamgoudar, Project Director, (RCH)
Mobile: +91-94-4984-3005

Dr. Husensaheb. M. Khaji, Deputy Director, Immunization
Mobile: +91-94-4984-3418

UNICEF:

Prosun Sen, Communication Specialist, UNICEF Office for Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka,
Mobile: +91- 95-0265-5533, Email: psen@unicef.org

Sonia Sarkar, Communication Officer (Media), UNICEF India, Mobile: +91-98-9186-1445, E-mail: ssarkar@unicef.org