News

Volume 5 Issue 2 - January 15, 2007

170 million children to get polio cover; U.P. and Bihar committed to give their best

D.N.I.S. News Network - The Government kicked off its pulse polio immunisation programme on 07 January 2007, aimed at covering 170 million children in the country. Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) and Bihar are committed to give their best and actively motivate various communities to ensure maximum coverage, the Government has stated.

According to the Assistant Commissioner, Immunisation, Government of India, hopefully the “transmission of the virus can be interrupted” with more quality rounds in U.P., Bihar and high-risk districts of polio affected states. One of the Government strategies is to have rapid rounds in the next six months. The idea of these quality rounds is to ensure that there will be a minimum number of ‘missing’ children. The Government is spending Rs. 110 crore on the vaccines and another Rs. 75 crore on the operational expenses.

With 51 million children in U.P. and Bihar alone, the difficult task is to ensure that cent per cent immunisation is achieved. Unlike other states where at least 80 per cent of the estimated target children have got polio cover, in U.P. and Bihar it is only 40 per cent. In 2006, U.P. and Bihar had an outbreak of the virus, with 413 and 39 cases of polio respectively.

The next round of the polio immunisation programme will be held on February 11, while special rounds will be held for U.P. and Bihar and high-risk districts of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and other polio-affected states on March 11.