Universal immunization programme

Universal immunization programme

Subject : Government Scheme

Context–

The Union health ministry has directed states and union territories to focus on the universal immunization programme (UIP), which was severely affected during the worst years of the covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Concept:

The universal immunization programme/Mission Indradhanush 

• The Immunization Programme in India was introduced in 1978 as ‘Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• In 1985, the Programme was modified as ‘Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)’.
  • UIP prevents mortality and morbidity in children and pregnant women against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases.
• To accelerate the coverage, Mission Indradhanush was envisaged and implemented since 2015 to rapidly increase the full immunization coverage to 90%.
  • It was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) on 25th December 2014 with the aim of expanding immunization coverage to all children across India.
• Mission Indradhansuh was also identified as one of the flagship schemes under Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and Extended Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
• It is one of the largest public health programmes targeting close to 26 million newborns and 29 million pregnant women annually. 
• A child is said to be fully immunized if it receives all due vaccines as per the national immunization schedule within the 1st year of life.
• The Universal Immunization Programme provides life-saving vaccines to all children across the country free of cost to protect them against 12 preventable diseases.
  • Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis B, Pneumonia and Meningitis due to Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib), Measles, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Rotavirus diarrhoea. (Rubella, JE and Rotavirus vaccine in select states and districts).
  • The pregnant women are administered the tetanus vaccine, ORS packets and zinc tablets are distributed for use in the event of severe diarrhea or dehydration and vitamin A doses are administered to boost child immunity.
• Mission Indradhanush focuses on pockets of low immunization coverage and tough terrains where the proportion of unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children is high.
• Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) was launched in October 2017.
  • Under IMI, greater focus was given on urban areas which were one of the gaps of Mission Indradhanush. It focused on improving immunization coverage in select districts and cities to ensure full immunization to more than 90% by December 2018 instead of 2020.

Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN)

• It is an innovative technological solution aimed at strengthening vaccine supply chain systems across the country.
• It is an indigenously developed technology system that digitizes vaccine stocks and monitors the temperature of the cold chain through a smartphone application.
• eVIN aims to support the Government of India’s Universal Immunization Programme by providing real-time information on vaccine stocks and flows, and storage temperatures across all cold chain points in these states.
• It is being implemented under the National Health Mission (NHM) by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
•  It is a combination of IT infrastructure and trained human resources to enable real-time monitoring of stock and storage temperature of the vaccines kept in multiple locations across the country.
• The integrated solution combines:
  • Technology :Online real-time information on vaccine stocks and storage temperature to facilitate evidence-based decision-making.
  • Governance: Systemizing record keeping, upgrading logistics and encouraging good practices to ensure efficient vaccine logistics management.
  • Human Resources: To empower the state cold chain network by building the capacities of handlers and managers at each stage of vaccine supply.