Lower Subansiri District Administration’s decision to make immunisation card compulsory for admission of children in government schools with the intention of achieving greater immunisation coverage is a very timely and practical step. By making immunisation a statutory precondition  for obtaining education in government-run schools, it will now be much easier to plug the target gaps that mainly arise due to apathies on the part of parents, that in turn have their origin in certain pre-harboured beliefs based entirely on superstitions. The idea had been vociferously advocated by the medical fraternity particularly the paediatricians all across the country and a few states had already implemented it. It is encouraging it has been tried in Arunachal Pradesh and it will also be further beneficial if it forms a part of the state’s education policy.
In the continuing quest for achieving a disease-free existence, immunisation since many decades has been at the forefront of all mass health interventions all over the world. As the most cost-effective solution to keep the children shielded from so many deadly diseases, vaccines  have always remained the first choice and for a primarily poor, underdeveloped and densely populated country like India, its  significance needs no  elaboration. Even if the country has made commendable strides in extending the immunisation outreach,    when it comes to containing infant mortality, there are still deficiencies leading to large number of deaths which are otherwise preventable just through vaccination alone. To turn the tide, various programmes are currently underway and the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0 programme launched in December 2019 last    is an ambitious one that seeks to amplify efforts to achieve the 90% national immunization coverage within March 2020. The most glaring example of immunisation success that is also worth emulating is the case of banishing polio from India. Coming March, it will be completion of six years when WHO declared India as a polio-free nation and it has been possible since all efforts took  the seriousness and stature of a mass movement. With this seemingly once-insurmountable challenge won, there are no reasons why the tempo can’t be carried forward. But since there are new threats that had also led to the introduction of further vaccinations namely the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), Rotavirus vaccine (RVV), Measles Rubella (MR), Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV), Tetanus and adult diphtheria (Td) etc, the overall process of immunisation needs to be a continuing affair without any lapses. But hindrances remain due to various misconceptions in many parts of the country and in an effort to seek solutions for reaching coverage targets, the idea of    interlinking admission criteria with immunisation is gradually gaining ground.
For a healthier Arunachal, it will be better if this novel idea is tried in all districts and involving the private schools too. It would then be possible to take mass awareness on immunisation to that desired levels.    

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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