President of India Ram Nath Kovind launched the Pulse Polio programme for 2018 by administering polio drops to children less…
The President Ram Nath Kovind launching the Pulse Polio Programme by administering Polio Drops to children at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on Saturday. (Photo: Twitter)
President of India Ram Nath Kovind launched the Pulse Polio programme for 2018 by administering polio drops to children less than five years old, at the Rahstrapati Bhawan, on the eve of the National Immunisation Day.
The National Immunisation Day will be observed tomorrow (28 January).
The President administered the polio drops in the presence of the Union Health Minister J P Nadda and Ministers of State (Health) Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Anupriya Patel.
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More than 17 crore children of less than five years across the country will be given polio drops as part of the drive of Government of India to sustain polio eradication from the country.
Speaking at the function, the Union Health Minister JP Nadda said, “We need to remain vigilant and maintain the population immunity and sensitive surveillance till global polio eradication happens as poliovirus is still circulating in other parts of the world which may reinfect us.”
Nadda further said, “It is important that all vaccines under the programme reach to every last child of our country.”
To provide additional protection to our children, Government of India has also introduced the injectable Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) into its routine immunisation program, Nadda said.
“To further strengthen and accomplish our goals we have launched Mission Indradhanush and encouraged by its success, we have recently intensified the mission in October, 2017 to achieve more than 90% full immunisation coverage by 2018,” Nadda said.
The Health Minister also appreciated the efforts of state governments and the supporting organizations like WHO, UNICEF and Rotary International etc., for strengthening the efforts of the Government not only for polio programme but also for other initiatives in immunisation.
Also present at the function were Preeti Sudan, Secretary (HFW), senior officers of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and representatives of development partners.
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