About
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare introduced Mission Indradhanush on December 25, 2014. Immunization coverage rose from 61% to 65% between 2009 and 2013, which represents a 1% annual increase.
To reach the goal of complete coverage by 2020, the Indradhanush mission has been undertaken to speed up the immunization process by protecting 5% or more children each year.
The Goal of Mission Indradhanush
- Assuring that all infants under the age of two and pregnant women receive the full complement of immunizations is Mission Indradhanush’s ultimate objective. The biggest concentration of children who are only partially or never immunized has been found in 201 high-priority districts spread throughout 28 states in the nation, according to the government.
- Before the first two phases of Mission Indradhanush, the rise in full immunization coverage was 1% per year, but it has now climbed to 6.7% each year.
- Over 2.53 billion children and 68 lakh pregnant women have received vaccinations as a result of the four stages of Mission Indradhanush that have been carried out as of August 2017.
Objective
- By 2020, all children who are either partially or completely immunized against diseases that can be prevented by vaccination will be covered by Mission Indradhanush. Every year, 26 million children in India receive free vaccinations against 12 serious diseases under the Universal Immunization Program (UIP).
- All children in the country are given free access to vaccines that can save their lives against diseases like polio, measles, rubella, Japanese encephalitis (JE), rotavirus diarrhea, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) (Rubella, JE and Rotavirus vaccine in select states and districts).
Areas under Focus
201 districts were the focus of Mission Indradhanush in 2014, 297 districts in 2015, and 216 districts in 2016. 82 of these districts are located in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. 25% of all children in these districts are either partially or entirely unvaccinated. Through specific immunization efforts, this mission specifically targets the following crucial areas:
- Areas with a high polio risk. This comprises nomadic people, migrants in urban slums, residents of brick kilns, building sites, residents of river areas with migratory populations, and remote communities like tribals.
- Places with low routine immunization (RI) coverage.
- Areas with vacant sub-centers where there has not been an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) posted for a long duration.
- Areas with missed routine immunization sessions.
- Small towns and villages were initially grouped with other villages rather than having their own RI sessions. Indradhanush mission will include independent routine immunization programs for them.
How is the government going about the implementation?
- The goal of the phased implementation will be to “catch up” with all the children who have missed or been excluded from immunizations.
- Technically supported by the WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International, and other donor partners.
- Phase 1 targets 201 districts | and Phase 2 targets 352 districts.
- The first round of the first phase started on 7 April 2015-World Health Day.
Strategy for Mission Indradhanush
With a focus on districts with poor immunization coverage, Mission Indradhanush will be a nationwide immunization push to strengthen the major functional areas of immunization to ensure high coverage throughout the nation.
The broad strategy, based on evidence and best practices, will include four basic elements-
- Meticulous planning of campaigns/sessions at all levels: Revision of micro plans should be made in each district’s blocks and urban regions to guarantee the availability of enough immunizers and all vaccines during routine vaccination sessions. Create unique strategies to reach unreached children in over 400,000 high-risk communities, including urban slums, building sites, brick kilns, nomadic camps, and difficult-to-reach locations.
- Effective communication and social mobilization efforts: Increase community engagement in the routine vaccination program by using need-based communication techniques, interpersonal communication (IPC) activities, school and youth networks, and corporate networks to raise knowledge of and demand for immunization services.
- Intensive training of the health officials and frontline workers: Build the capacity of health officials and workers in routine immunization activities for quality immunization services.
- Establish accountability framework through task forces: By strengthening the district task forces for immunization in all districts of India and ensuring the use of concurrent session monitoring data to plug the implementation gaps on a real-time basis, it is possible to increase participation, accountability, and ownership of the district administration and health machinery.
To encourage a coordinated and synergistic approach to boost routine immunization coverage in the nation, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will develop partnerships with other Ministries, ongoing programs, and international partners.
Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI)
- The Government of India has started the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) to reach every child under the age of two and all pregnant women who were not covered by the regular immunization program. The campaign’s purpose was to increase immunization rates in a few districts and cities so that by December 2018, more than 90% of the population would be fully immunized.
- Every month between October 2017 and January 2018, four successive immunization rounds were carried out under the IMI in 173 districts, including 52 districts in 8 northeastern states and 121 districts and 17 cities in 16 states, with a sharper focus on high-priority districts and metropolitan regions. Low-performing neighborhoods and urban regions were covered by Intensified Mission Indradhanush.
- These regions were chosen through the triangulation of data from national surveys, data from the Health Management Information System, and data from concurrent monitoring by the World Health Organization. Unserved/low-coverage areas in urban slums and sub-centers with migrant populations received special attention. The National Urban Health Mission’s specified urban settlements and cities are also emphasized (NUHM).
- 11 more agencies and ministries, including the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Panchayati Raj, the Ministry of Urban Development, and the Ministry of Youth Affairs, among others, provide support for IMI. ASHA, ANMs, Anganwadi workers, and Zila under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM), and self-help groups came together at the ground level to guarantee greater coordination and successful program execution.
- Mission Intensification At regular intervals, Indradhanush would be thoroughly monitored at the district, state, and federal levels. Additionally, it would be examined at the national level by the Cabinet Secretary and would continue to be overseen at the highest level as part of a special project called “Proactive Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI)”.
IMI 2.0
- It was a nationwide immunization drive to mark the 25 years of the Pulse polio program (2019-20).
- It had targets of full immunization coverage in 272 districts spread over 27 States.
- It aimed to achieve at least 90% pan-India immunization coverage by 2022.
IMI 3.0
- IMI 3.0 was launched in 2021.
- The focus of the IMI 3.0 was the children and pregnant women who had missed their vaccine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Beneficiaries from migration areas and hard-to-reach areas were targeted as they might have missed their vaccine doses during COVID-19.
IMI 4.0
- It will ensure that Routine Immunization (RI) services reach unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children and pregnant women.
- Children up to two years old will be covered in this drive.
- While the pace of routine immunization has slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IMI 4.0 will immensely contribute to filling the gaps and making lasting gains toward universal immunization.
- Three rounds of IMI 4.0 will be conducted in 416 districts, including 75 districts identified for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav across 33 States/UTs.
- These districts have been identified based on vaccination coverage as per the latest National Family Health Survey-5 report, Health Management Information System (HMIS) data, and the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases.
IMI 5.0 campaign
- Aim – To enhance immunization coverage for all vaccines provided under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) as per the National Immunization Schedule (NIS).
- It ensures that routine immunization services reach the missed-out and dropped-out children and pregnant women across the country.
- It is being conducted across all the districts in the country and includes children up to 5 years of age (Previous campaigns included children up to 2 years).
- The special focus is on the improvement of Measles and Rubella vaccination coverage to eliminate them by 2023.
- It leverages the U-WIN digital platform for Routine Immunization in a pilot mode.
