child vaccination program in India
Everything About Child Vaccination In India
India witnesses a Notable Rise in Vaccinations programs
Contagious diseases like smallpox have been eradicated notably in the late 90s after a lot of effort invested in the immunization programs throughout the country. The first immunization programme was launched in 1978 and mainly in urban areas. What was required at this point was an introduction of the same in rural areas.
National Health Mission expanded the immunization programme gradually and broadly in 1980s to rural areas. Since then the programme has been revised and renamed as the Universal Immunization programme i.e UIP. The program consists of vaccination for nine diseases- tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles, Hepatitis B, Diarrhea, Japanese Encephalitis and Pneumonia. Hepatitis B was added to the UIP in 2007. Thus, UIP has 9 vaccine preventable diseases in the program now.
The aim of National Health Mission, when introduced was to rapidly increase immunization coverage and slowly focus on monitoring and achieving self-sufficiency in vaccine production. This was further enhanced and achieved through Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme. A specific Immunization Strengthening Project (ISP) was also designed to run from 2000-2003, which included three main components (polio eradication, strengthening routine immunization, and strategic framework for development).
The goal as proposed by National Health Mission was to reduce morbidity and mortality through vaccine programs. So far the goals have been achieved and the efforts have brought India closer to the goal of polio eradication than ever before in history with only 42 confirmed cases in 2010 and only one in 2011.
ITSU 