To create awareness about vaccinating every eligible child and intensify efforts to improve routine immunisation coverage, government launched Special Immunisation Week.
Under the plan, four weeks -- one week each of the months of April, June, July and August -- will be used to hold special immunisation sessions in high-risk areas across the country, that will help improve immunisation.
Every year, full immunisation prevents about four lakh under-five deaths from vaccine preventable diseases in India, but close to 75 lakh children every year miss the benefits of such childhood vaccinations.
Globally every fifth child is immunised, while a majority of those missing the opportunity in India are from among the marginalised populations and being unvaccinated keeps them at highest risk of catching life-threatening diseases.
"The Special Immunisation Week is an opportunity to reinforce India's Call to Action for child survival and development," Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission, said while launching a new communication campaign at the India Habitat Centre here today.
The new communication campaign comprises a new routine immunisation logo, TV spot, radio spot and posters and was organised in collaboration with UNICEF, which was part of the first Special Immunisation Week (April 24-30) awareness initiative.
