The Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Mr. J.P. Nadda launched the Second Phase of Mission Indradhanush, in New Delhi on October 05, 2015. The Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Mr. B.P. Sharma, the AS&MD (NHM), Shri C.K. Mishra, the WHO Representative for India, Dr. Arun Thapa, the UNICEF Representative for India. Mr. Louis-Georges Arsenault and the JS (RCH, IEC), Dr. Rakesh Kumar are also seen.
Extend All Support To The States For Fulfilling Targets
New Delhi (PIB-GR-TYP-BIN): Mr. JP Nadda, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare assured all support to the states for achieving targets of full immunization under Mission Indradhanush. He exhorted them to leave no stone unturned to ensure that the left out and missed out children of the routine immunization program in the country are provided full protection under this nationwide initiative. “We aim to achieve more than 90% full immunization in the country by 2020 under Mission Indradhanush”. The Minister stated this while launching the second phase of the special initiative on October 5.
The Health Minister interacted with Health Ministers and Health Secretaries of States through video conferencing and inquired regarding the preparedness of the states to implement the second phase of this initiative which aims to cover all children below 2 years of age and pregnant women with full immunization against seven vaccine preventable diseases. The Health Minister urged the states/UTs to put into practice the lessons learnt during the first phase of Mission Indradhanush for sustained gains.
The Minister stated that this would not only help in increasing the immunization coverage in the state but would contribute to strengthening the health systems. He congratulated the states for their cooperation and collective effort, and the Health Ministers and Secretaries for their personal involvement and constant monitoring of the immunization drive.
In the second phase of Mission Indradhanush, 352 districts have been selected including 279 mid priority districts, 33 from the North East states and 40 districts from phase one where large number of missed out children were detected. The second phase will commence from 7th October, 2015 for a week. This will be followed by week-long intensified immunization drives for three consecutive months, starting from 7th November and 7th December 2015 and 7th January 2016.
(Source: PIB/GR/TYP/BIN/USPA/WN/IAIJ)