Arunachal Pradesh Health and Family Welfare Minister Alo Libang on Monday launched ‘Mission Pratiraksha’, a State-level initiative to accelerate the process of achieving cent per cent immunisation coverage from the Karsingsa session site here.
Libang appealed to all parents in the State to come forward and get their children immunised to protect them from preventable diseases. He said that Mission Pratiraksha was designed to accelerate the process of achieving 90% immunisation coverage in the State by reaching out to the unreached and motivating them.
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He sought the support of everyone for the success of Mission Pratiraksha and stressed upon motivating grassroots level workers for effective implementation of the programme in areas yet to be serviced.
Family Welfare Special Secretary and NHM Mission Director, Dr Kinny Singh said that the mission will focus on those districts where the number of left-out children is higher. She said that the vaccination will target children up to 2 years of age and pregnant women, adding that 30-35% children in the State are yet to be immunised.
The current immunisation rate is 67%.
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Dr Singh said that field officials and ground-level workers had put their best foot forward to achieve this figure. The mission was initiated to motivate them, she added.
Pratiraksha encompasses related programmes such as Mission Indradanush, incentivisation for full immunisation and routine immunisation.
NHM Nodal Officer, Dr D Padung, while briefing on Mission Pratiraksha, said routine immunisation is one of highest priority health programmes but the desired target has still not been achieved by the State. “The strategy of this mission will remain the same as Indradanush wherein headcount, survey micro-plan, follow-up, mobilisation and wide awareness and close monitoring at regular intervals will be done. In addition, Mission Pratiraksha will include incentives for ASHA and ANM for every left-out child identified by them.”
He further said that award mechanism to top three districts and leadership awards will be given in terms of coverage percentage of immunisation.
Mission Pratraksha, consisting of four rounds of immunisation planned over seven working days, will start from October 22 October. The second, third and fourth rounds are scheduled from November 22, December 22 and January 22.
During these, children having completed all due vaccines as per schedule would be actively searched through field-level workers for incentivisation. All children who come for vaccination for the first time will be recorded and reward will be given to ASHA and ANM for identifying the new children.