By Raju Kumar
BHOPAL:
The Measles and Rubella immunisation campaign is going to be rolled out from
tomorrow. The campaign will be run for one month. This is part of the
nationwide Measles and Rubella immunisation campaign, under which all children
from 9 months to 15 years will be vaccinated. The drive would be carried out in
government and private schools, hospitals and other institutions, so that no
child is left behind. Madhya Pradesh is still one of the states where
malnutrition, infant mortality and child mortality rate are high. Diseases such
as pneumonia, diarrhea and measles are also the major cause of child mortality.
But for the past two-three years child health and nutrition levels are showing
improvement in the state. One of the major reasons for this is awareness among
people about immunisation.
Although malnutrition is a major
problem, due to which the children suffer less resistance to normal diseases.
Measles is a major cause of infant and child mortality, but immunisation can
help to protect from these diseases. In 2016, the number of measles cases
reported in Madhya Pradesh was 2,369, while it went down to 1,102 in 2017 and
1,364 in 2018.
As per the data of NFHS 4 (2015-16),
the number of children with immunisation in Madhya Pradesh is 53.6%, which is
13% more than the NFHS 3 (2005-06). If the status of measles immunisation is
seen, it was 79.6 percent. But after this there has been a great improvement in
terms of community awareness due to continuous campaigns in the last two years.
This is the reason why in addition to routine immunisation, efforts are being
made to bring 100% of children under the programme through different campaigns.
In 2015, there were 49,200 deaths in India, which is approximately 36 percent
of total for the world. Those who survive suffer from serious complications,
including diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition. Rubella transmission is also
highly prevalent across India. It may lead to spontaneous abortion, stillbirth
and irreversible birth defects, such as lifelong disabilities affecting
multiple organs like deafness, blindness, mental retardation, heart defect etc.
Nishant Warwade, director of
National Health Mission, Madhya Pradesh, says that all preparations have been
made for the launch of measles rubella campaign in Madhya Pradesh, under which
2.32 crore children will be immunised in four phases in schools, Anganwadis,
outreach and mop up sessions. All health facilities will have free measles
rubella vaccine and regular routine immunisation sessions. Monitoring will be a
key aspect of the campaign both at state and district level.
State Immunisation Officer Dr.
Santosh Shukla says that measles and rubella are very dangerous for children
and pregnant women. Measles can cause serious complications like ear infection,
blindness, encephalitis, diarrhea, pneumonia, malnutrition and death due to
complications. Rubella and congenital rubella syndrome infection in pregnant
women may have serious consequences, which lead to many other lifelong
disabilities in children.
UNICEF is giving technical support
in to this campaign. Anil Gulati, Communication Specialist, UNICEF, Madhya
Pradesh, emphasizes the need to eliminate all hurdles to save children from
measles and rubella by proper immunisation. He says social media has also been
included in the spreading awareness about the campaign so that information
reaches the maximum number of people. (IPA
Service)
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