Mission Indradhanush

The second phase of Mission Indradhanush programme to vaccinate all children below 5 years of age commenced both in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on May 7 and continued till May 14. UNICEF also, in coordination with State and Central governments, organised awareness campaigns during the period.

Mission Indradhanush or the rainbow, depicting seven colours of life, is aimed at protecting children against seven life-threatening diseases nationwide with a special thrust in 201 high focus districts with weak immunisation coverage. The Mission heralds a renewed national and sub-national effort to accelerate action for increasing awareness and demand for immunisation by communities, and improved vaccination delivery services.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India launched the Mission on December 25, 2014, as a special nationwide initiative to vaccinate all unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children under the Universal Immunization Programme by 2020. The Mission focuses on interventions to expand full immunization coverage in India from 65% in 2013 to at least 90% children in the next five years.

The programme provides immunisation against seven life-threatening diseases (diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B) in the entire country. In addition, vaccination against Haemophilus influenza type B and Japanese Encephalitis is provided in select districts/states. This will be done through special catch-up campaigns to rapidly increase full immunization coverage of children by 5% and more annually.

Under Mission Indradhanush, the Health Ministry has identified 201 high focus districts across the country that have the highest number of partially vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Nearly 50% of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children are in these 201 districts. Of the 201 districts, 82 districts are concentrated in the four states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and nearly 25% of the unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children of India are in these 82 districts of these four states. In Andhra Pradesh, the identified districts were East Godavari, Guntur, Krishna, Kurnool and Visakhapatnam, while in Telangana the programme is on in Adilabad and Mahbubnagar districts.