Guwahati: The Centre has chosen 52 districts from the Northeast, including seven from Assam, to be covered under the Intensive Mission Indradhanush.
Under the mission, intensive immunisation drives will be carried out in the districts to reach 100 per cent coverage.
While the mission was nationally launched at Vadnagar in Gujarat Sunday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was launched in Assam at Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital here by state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The minister said Nagaon, Goalpara, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Chirang, Darrang and Karbi Anglong are the seven districts chosen under the mission. He said three urban pockets – Nagaon, Goalpara and Dhubri – have been targeted for the immunisation drive.
“These districts are either hill districts or have significant number of sar areas. The health department may not have been able to reach every child in these districts for immunisation. There are 4,000 health sub-centres in the state which is not enough to cover 3.2 crore people,” he said.
Sarma said through the mission, the Northeast will benefit the most as 52 out of the 108 districts selected for the scheme are in the region. He said a recent survey by the Centre revealed that 93.10 per cent babies in Assam have been immunised. Haryana topped the list with 100 per cent immunisation coverage. Sarma hoped the mission will help reduce infant mortality rate, which is 44 per 1,000 live births, one of the highest in the country, reported Telegraphindia.
“In 2006, the IMR in Assam was 68,” he said.
Sarma said Assam has succeeded in bringing down the IMR to around 3 per cent, which is on a par with the rest of the country. “But we have to work extra hard to improve the percentage,” he said.
The Intensive Mission Indradhanush will be held in four phases beginning November 7. Sarma said Asha (accredited social health activists) and auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) who are village-level female health workers, have a crucial role to play in successful implementation of the scheme.
He requested the Asha and ANM workers to involve themselves wholeheartedly in the implementation of the mission.
A distinctive feature of the mission is greater focus being given on convergence with other ministries/departments, especially women and child development, panchayati raj, urban development and youth affairs.
Intensive Mission Indradhanush was preceded by Mission Indradhanush. Four phases of Mission Indradhanush have been completed in 528 districts across the country. More than 2.47 crore children and around 67 lakh pregnant women have been vaccinated under the project.